


Murder in the B60 Cluster

by ninamyyly



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Blackmail, Blood, Boys in dresses, Domestic Violence, Drug Use, F/M, Feminization, Galra Keith (Voltron), Implied Mpreg, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Keith is Called Kiti, M/M, Minor Allura/Lance (Voltron), Murder Mystery, Omega Keith (Voltron), Past Child Murder, Past Kidnapping, Past Torture, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Rape/Non-con Elements, Stabbing, early birth, galra have alpha/beta/omega dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:41:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 39,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22697275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninamyyly/pseuds/ninamyyly
Summary: As Hunk and Pidge board the so-called crown jewel of first-class passenger intergalactic vessels, the Atlas, on their journey to their friend's wedding, the last thing they expect is a murder. But when one takes place in their cabin cluster, a space that only a handful of people had access to at the time of the death, they find themselves getting involved in order to prevent the mistreated betrothed of the victim from going down for the murder. Hunk feels in his gut he didn't do it, but could he really have slept through the entire murder? And who else had better motive to kill Lord Sendak?
Relationships: Hunk/Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Sendak (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are, guys. 
> 
> I've loved murder mysteries for years. And because of that, I've always wanted to write one, but just wasn't sure if I could do it or how to do it. It is only now that I feel confident enough in my abilities to be able to make one for real.
> 
> You might see some similarities between this fic and a quite famous murder mystery, and it was indeed inspired by the one you're likely thinking of. But I've also tried to make it my own and not an exact copy of that plot or who the murderer is.
> 
> Keith is quite femme in this one Because of Reasons, and Hunk uses they/them pronouns for him at first, not knowing how he identifies.
> 
> Special thanks to my beta-reader @leandralena, as well as to Lunarium and inkyubus for giving me some initial notes on the first draft! ❤︎

The noise at the spaceport is almost deafening, easily causing one’s ears to ring with its echoes. The loud chatter of people making their way down their lines, the announcements that can be heard thrumming all around, the clatter of luggage being pulled, hauled and set down. People pass by in a rush of color and movement, the movement dizzying. The artificial lights burn almost too bright above and around them.

Being surrounded by all of it, causes Hunk’s heart to beat a little faster and makes his head spin a little. A vague nausea bubbles in his throat, cold sweat breaking out at the back of his neck and he can’t help but think it unfair that even after all these years of extraterrestrial travel, he’s still not quite used to the chaos of it.

Just as he’s considering making a break for the restroom, he sees a bottle of water being held up for him and feels the firm but gentle squeeze on his hand.

He turns to look to his side, and sees Pidge give him an encouraging smile. “Hang on, we’re almost there,” she says. “Just think, in just a few hours we’ll be comfortably settled in a cabin and it’ll just be a whole week of nothing but luxury and decadent living before the wedding.”

Hunk takes the bottle with a grateful nod, taking shallow sips to alleviate his nausea. “Well, it’s the least Lance could do, given what kind of chaos his wedding is bound to be.”

Pidge snorts. “It’s weird to think the actual bridezilla of this wedding is the groom. Especially when he’s marrying an honest-to-god princess.”

Hunk lets out a snort of his own, as he and Pidge continue to make their way to the much-longed for peace of the first class lounge, where they’ll spend the rest of their time at this spaceport before boarding the luxury interstellar liner known as the Atlas. Hunk lets Pidge guide him through the masses of people as he allows himself fall into a daydream of the so-called crown jewel of first-class passenger vessels in this part of the universe. The Atlas has a reputation of giving its clients only the best of the best, priding itself on never having had a request from a client they couldn’t satisfy. Hunk had even read the occasional gossip article on crew members being sent out on shopping trips to the nearest swap moon to retrieve items they couldn’t provide from their own storage.

Of course, the price for a ticket to travel on the Atlas reflects its quality. Even though Hunk and Pidge make more than their fair share between them, the idea of travelling on this particular ship had always been just a fancy pipe dream. The Atlas is the vessel of royalty, of lords and ladies and people of unimaginable riches. And even though Hunk meets many of those same people in his line of work as an intergalactic diplomat, and Pidge sees her fair share presenting her inventions to the world, the Atlas had always seemed like a step too far into decadent spending for them to bother with, when there were plenty of other ships that were comfortable for them to travel on for much less money.

At least, until Lance had gotten himself engaged to an Altean princess, thus making them just one step removed from those who generally make their way through the galaxies on the Atlas. And then Lance had insisted on paying for Hunk and Pidge’s tickets to take the Atlas to his wedding to the princess.

The thought of Allura makes Hunk smile and snort out a short laugh. Given the clumsy efforts Lance had given to try and court her during her exchange year to their college on Earth, it still seems hard to believe he actually managed to win her over in the end. But apparently that was just what Allura liked about Hunk’s oldest friend; Lance could make her laugh, he was genuine, and didn’t say things he didn’t mean, even if he might express his thoughts less than tactfully. Once Lance got over his bravado and could be more real with her, she’d found someone she could rely on, who would support her unconditionally and with whom there was absolutely no bullshit.

Despite his slight disbelief that this wedding is actually happening, Hunk couldn’t be happier. He’s seen both his good friends through all of their relationship of many years; the awkward beginning, the shy first intimacy, the sadness and the longing of their long-distance years, the pains of Lance trying to get used to the court life, the engagement and the wedding plans. Allura and Lance have been through so much together, and Hunk is so proud to have the chance to celebrate their love and stand beside Lance in a week’s time as his best man.

The additional bonus of getting to travel on the Atlas is just the cherry on top, as is the suspense of waiting to find out what surprise Lance has planned to take place at the wedding is going to be. Though after the month he’s had, Hunk is grateful for this once in a lifetime chance to make the journey to Altea in style. He does still feel a little bad for how much the tickets must’ve cost Lance, but for the most part, he’s ready to put that out of his mind and just enjoy himself.

After all, Daibazaal isn’t exactly Hunk’s favorite planet to work his diplomatic magic on, the way he has needed to for the past few weeks. The Galra may have come a long way from the warrior people they once were, but they still maintain their strong, prideful personalities and strong stances on many things. Likewise, Hunk may have long grown out of the nervous boy he once was, but he still needed to pull out every trick he had just to get his voice heard among the Galra, even though the past month had just been routine meetings between allies. It doesn’t help that Earth is such a small and distant planet in the eyes of many, and it’s sometimes beyond difficult to get people to take a young diplomat like Hunk seriously.

It feels like a huge load off his back to know all those diplomatic meetings are now behind him, and he has a whole week’s worth of time to just relax and spend time with Pidge before the wedding. All the while being spoiled rotten by the decadence that is travelling on the Atlas.

“Spaceport to Hunk,” Pidge’s voice rouses him from his thoughts.

As Hunk blinks himself into more awareness, he can see they’ve finally made it to the gates of the first-class boarding lounge. He gives Pidge a happy, grateful smile, before digging out their boarding passes and handing them to the spaceport security agent standing guard by the door.

“Have a safe trip,” the security agent wishes them as he hands Hunk back their passes. “I hope you enjoy your journey on the Atlas.”

Hunk gives him a nod and a smile. “I’m sure we will, thank you.”

Hunk and Pidge pass the security agent by, and he opens the door for them leading into the boarding lounge. They step in, and the sudden silence that follows them as the door slides shut behind them makes Hunk let out a relieved sigh, relaxing his shoulders.

His relaxation doesn’t last long as he takes in the others in the room. Looking at them, Hunk can’t help but be grateful they’re all seemingly occupied with something other than turning to look at him and Pidge; most of them doing something on their phones or tablets and a few enjoying drinks at the private bar in the lounge. Despite how casual everyone seems to be, their mere presence exudes an aura of wealth and high class that can’t help but make Hunk feel very underdressed.

He and Pidge dressed fairly comfortably earlier today for their dash to the spaceport and gate; something they generally do for their long journeys. Looking at everyone around them now, though, Hunk suddenly feels very foolish for not taking more into consideration the type of company they’d be traveling in. Because everyone in the lounge, ready to climb aboard the best ship on this side of the universe, looks more like they’re getting ready for a formal event. Or like they have the kind of wealth to travel like this constantly and wish to show it off. They’re all draped in the highest fashions, made of expensive fabrics and elaborate jewels. The gems they have on shine in the soft overhead lights as though the people themselves have a shimmering aura around them.

Just looking at them makes Hunk break out in sweat.

“Come on,” Pidge says, again snapping him out of it, possibly even intentionally. After all their years together, she’s gotten pretty good at reading his moods. “Let’s go sit down.”

Hunk lets her lead him to one of the unoccupied couches in the room. Uncaring as ever of what anyone thinks of her, Pidge takes off her backpack and as soon as she sits down, starts rummaging through it. She pulls out her pair of headphones, attaching them to her phone and putting them on. Soon enough, Hunk can hear music quietly thrumming through. Pidge taps her foot to the rhythm and leaves Hunk to his thoughts, though the small hand that comes to cover his still serves as a source of comfort for him.

Hunk lets out a sigh as he leans back to rest against the couch, wondering if he should follow Pidge’s example and simply block out the world with his own headphones or tablet. Just let himself get lost in something else other than his own racing mind, at least until they finally start boarding and he and Pidge can take refuge in the privacy of their bound-to-be incredible cabin suite.

Just as he’s about to lean down to grab his pad from his bag, a loud voice breaking through the quiet murmurs of the lounge catches his attention. As he lets his ears guide his eyes, Hunk finds his gaze drawn towards the door to the room, the same entrance where he and Pidge had just come from.

It’s wide open, with the security guard standing with his back towards the lounge in the middle of the doorway, appearing to be trying to block someone from entering. “Sir, as I have already explained, our policy indicates that-”

“And I told _you_ , I have diplomatic immunity from Emperor Zarkon himself,” Hunk hears one of the largest Galra he’s ever seen growl down at the poor spaceport worker. Even from beyond the glass separating him and the room, Hunk can see he’s a creature with tons of purple fur and rather large ears, but that’s not what really draws his attention. It’s the enormous, claw-like prosthetic right arm the Galra has, as well as the prosthetic left eye that glows eerily even from beyond the glass.

“I’m not liable to follow any idiotic ‘policy’ you may have,” the huge Galra spits out, revealing his large teeth in a way that makes Hunk’s hair stand up.

He swallows down his nerves. He reminds himself that this is not the first time he’s come in contact with these kinds of Galra. He meets them all the time in his line of work. Cocky Alphas, used to getting everything they want whenever they want it, and feeling like giving in even an inch is a wound to their pride. They’re difficult to deal with, but most of their bravado is just an act. You just have to find out what makes them tick, and they can be dealt with easily enough.

“As I said before,” the security guard says, sounding a lot braver than Hunk would expect from just a regular joe. But maybe he’s used to having his fair share of unpleasant and even intimidating customers and Alphas. Hunk can, after all, still remember his own experiences with customer service jobs with resounding horror. “If you don’t have proof of such immunity with you, I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist.”

“So this is how the mighty Atlas crew treats its most loyal customers, huh?” the Galra hisses. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“I don’t work for the Atlas. Just this spaceport, sir,” the agent says, his voice steady, but sounding a little more like it’s coming from the throat than before. Perhaps he’s not quite as unaffected as he wants to seem.

“You little…!”

“Darling, please.”

For the first time, Hunk’s eyes are drawn off to the enormous Galra and to his left side, where he can now just barely see glimpses of another person as they place a hand on the Alpha’s arm. And if the Galra shielding them from sight with his body is one of the biggest Hunk has ever seen, the one beside him has to be one of the smallest. They wouldn’t stand out even amongst humans with their height, even if Hunk can only see a little bit of them from behind their more aggressive partner. Just a corner of a sharp purple ear, a few locks of dark hair, and edges of a thick fur coat around their shoulders.

“Can’t you just look for our tickets?” the small Galra continues, still mostly invisible to Hunk. “I’m sure they’re in our bags somewhere. We’ll miss our boarding at this rate.”

“Shut up, you little bitch,” the large Galra growls in his direction. Hunk can’t help the flinch that escapes him, rolling down his spine.

He also can’t help but feel sorry for that small Galra, likely to be the Alpha’s Omega. Hunk has learned over the years that some cultural practices and ways are best to be left alone, to be dealt within the planet that has them, but…he’s always found it more difficult to accept seeing how some Omegas are treated. On Daibazaal, it is seen as a divine right, that Alphas can push around their partners, their Omegas any way they wish. And this particular Alpha seems like one of the worst he’s ever seen. Frankly, he’s shocked his Omega even dares to try and speak up at all.

Before Hunk can see what might happen next, his attention is caught by the ringing announcement all around the lounge, _“The Atlas is now ready for boarding. Passengers on decks A to D are advised to make their way to the platform and onto the ship. I repeat…”_

Hunk turns to nudge his partner’s shoulder. “Pidge,” he says, watching her lower her headphones down to rest around her neck. “We can board now.”

Pidge nods, before grabbing her carry-on and getting to her feet. “Let’s go then.”

Hunk gets to his feet as well, but before he follows her to the gate that will take them to the Atlas, he gives one last look towards the door to the lounge, and the couple still standing outside of it. The security guard seems to have shut the door, because now Hunk can only see rather than hear the Alpha Galra screaming in his face, drops of spit flying out of his mouth as he bares his fangs. His Omega is now completely blocked from his view. Hunk gives a little prayer to the heavens just for their sake. Though he has to admit he wouldn’t be too sorry if his bully of an Alpha never actually made it onboard the ship.

Just before he turns away, Hunk catches a glimpse of an Altean woman with dark skin and pink hair a little ways from the glass, inspecting the scene as well. Her back is turned to him, so he can’t see on her face what she might think of it, though.

…

Although the idea of making their way to their cabin immediately to get some rest after the tiresome morning they’ve had is a tempting one, seeing as this is their first trip on the Atlas, Hunk and Pidge opt to go to the welcoming ceremony at the grand ballroom before heading to their privacy. And despite how many of the passengers onboard must be regulars on the ship, there are many others that choose to do the same. It’s perhaps no wonder, given how it is one of the few times that they can see the Captain of the ship so close in person. Aside from the highly coveted personal dinners he takes with the passengers from randomly selected cabin clusters on the ship at his own table, each night for a different one for the journey of course. And the draw for the night will also take place at the opening ceremony, which is likely another reason that draws the crowd in.

There is a lot of anxious murmuring amongst the guests, each more extravagantly dressed than the next, each of them hoping against hope that the die might land on them. But they fall silent, as soon as the striking figure they’ve all been waiting for arrives at the top of the staircase leading to the ballroom. The Capitan is dressed impeccably in his wrinkless and form-fitting black-and-white uniform jacket, and with the overhead lights catching on his white hair just so.

“Good morning, everyone,” Captain Takashi Shirogane says, his voice made artificially loud in the room, seeming to fill the whole space in a way that makes Hunk feel it down in his very bones. “And welcome, welcome back on another journey aboard our magnificent Atlas.”

As Hunk looks at Captain Shirogane, surrounded by his closest crewmembers on top of the stairs, he can’t help but think it’s easy to see him as the perfect man to command the Atlas. Even now, after the strange, widely publicized incident involving his kidnapping and torture that he went through five years ago – the one that left his right arm replaced with a prosthetic, his hair white and his body scarred – Captain Shirogane commands respect and attention. Perhaps even more so than before, honestly. He was always regarded as heroic because of his incredible flight skills and ability to keep a level head under duress; both of which he needed when he managed to save the lives of everyone on board the ship from being swallowed by an exploding star way back when he was still much younger. But now…now he’s also a survivor, and a legend. The one who made it, in more ways than one. The little Earth pilot that could.

Hunk isn’t exactly one to go gaga over pilots, but Shirogane…Shirogane is something else. The things he’s done, the stuff he’s survived without any sort of retribution or justice for himself…it’s worthy of admiration. He is deserving of the regard.

“There are a few things I need to go over before we start the drawing for tonight’s dinner at the Captain’s Table,” Shirogane says. “First and foremost, this is the first flight on the Atlas with our new security policy in place. All cabin clusters will be locked from ten PM forward each night in order to further minimize the risk of burglary. In case any of you miss the curfew, you can find our master at arms, Rolo,” Shirogane gestures to his side, to a purple-skinned, lanky guy with a loose stance, “for assistance. And of course, our staff will be happy to bring you anything you might need to your suites.”

There’s a bit of murmur around them, though Hunk can’t tell if it’s pleased, resigned or irritated at the news.

“But now, without further ado,” Shirogane says, clapping his hands together. “The drawing for tonight’s dinner.”

People begin clapping excitedly as a screen of light is projected on the bare wall behind Captain Shirogane. Soon enough, flashes of cabin cluster numbers begin to form on it, too fast to comprehend. Hunk can hear a few people mutter their own cabin cluster number under their breaths, hoping for the best, as the numbers begin to slow down, until finally, they stop changing completely.

The draw has landed. _B60_.

“Hunk!” Pidge screeches, turning to him with bright, eager eyes. “Hunk, that’s us! That’s our cabin cluster!”

Hunk can’t even say anything, he just pulls her into his arms, squeezing her tight as happiness bubbles in his stomach.

“Congratulations to the winners of the draw for tonight,” Shirogane says with a smile. “I hope to see all of you in cabin cluster B60 at my table tonight. For now, there are refreshments at the other end of the hall laid out. And once again, welcome onboard. If there is anything we can do for you, my crew is always happy to assist in any way we can.”

As Hunk and Pidge turn to go grab something to eat from the buffet table laid out, Hunk gives one last glance over his shoulder at Shirogane. He’s still looking over the crowd, but his expression has shifted from that of a powerful leader and mighty Captain into something…almost sad. Hunk can’t read it completely, but he swears there is something almost desperate in the expression.

But before he can take the look on his face in further, Shirogane turns to talk to one of his crew members.

…

After a quick lunch in the ballroom, Hunk and Pidge finally head off to their cabin to get some much-needed rest. And when he finally opens the door to their suite, Hunk swears he could cry at the sight of its grandness.

It is a whole apartment fitted with beautiful and comfortable furniture, all of it outfitted to match the wallpaper and the elaborate rugs laid on the floor. They have a living room, a huge bedroom and a gleaming white bathroom with a clawfoot tub just for their own personal use. All their luggage has already been brought in for them.

But Hunk’s favorite feature, and he can tell that it’s Pidge’s as well, is their private lounging deck with its open windows covering the entire outer wall, giving them a magnificent view of the star-filled space outside. The glass can also be changed to portray any sort of landscape image they want, and the deck will mimic that landscape in regards to its heat, smell and sounds, serving all senses. Hunk looks forward to enjoying their own private breakfast there every morning for the duration of this journey.

As soon as they come down from their thrill that is their cabin, exhaustion is quick to follow, and Hunk and Pidge don’t even try to fight it after the weeks they’ve had. They settle down in their wonderful, amazing bed for a nap, and by the time they wake up, it is already about time for them to start getting ready for dinner.

They both take their time washing and freshening up, before dressing in their finest clothing for the honor of the formal dinner with the Captain. As Hunk does his bowtie, he can’t help but wish a little that the draw could’ve landed on him and Pidge on another night, even if he appreciates how lucky they are for this opportunity. But he’s just tired of these stiff dinners after weeks of them, and a part of him was looking forward to just ordering in a private meal for the two of them to have at their lounging deck.

Still, he’s not about to complain or take the privilege of what is about to happen for granted. So, he helps Pidge smooth out her own suit and makes sure not a hair is out of place on either of them, before they make their way towards the dining hall.

The dining hall is just as grand as the rest of the ship. A grand wooden staircase with sculpted railings and knobs leads down to it like it’s another ballroom. It certainly feels like one, with everyone dressed even more finely than they were in the boarding lounge at the spaceport, or for the welcoming ceremony, and Hunk hadn’t thought such a thing would be possible.

People walk arm-in-arm, escorting each other to dinner, the dining room itself filled with round tables covered by pure white linens, brought to light by grand crystalline chandeliers that twinkle above them. A lively but pretentious hum of chatter fills the room, but Hunk ignores it in favor of the delicious smell that enters his nose from the direction of the kitchens. It’s been several hours since lunch and he’s eager to find out just what a first class meal tastes like for real.

He and Pidge walk arm-in-arm like everyone else to the more private part of the dining hall, right by one of the enormous windows giving them a fine view of the outside space gliding by. The Captain’s Table is smaller than the rest, since only a few individuals are granted access to it every night. Some people might think it rude that the famous Captain Shirogane refuses to showcase himself more to his passengers and fans, but Hunk can understand it. It is a well-known fact that despite having multiple people working under him as his crew, as well as the automatic manner in which ships of this caliber move, Captain Shirogane likes to do most of the flying on the Atlas by his own hand. It is said his dinnertime and bedtime are the only periods during his flights that he allows himself to take a rest from being a Captain. Hunk can’t blame the man for wanting to spend that time on himself as much as he possibly can.

As they get closer to the table, Hunk can begin to hear voices speaking.

“Shiro, just let it go. Leave me alone,” one voice rings through the other chatter in the room, getting stronger and clearer the closer Hunk and Pidge get to the table.

“I can’t, Kiti. You know I can’t,” another voice, warm and deep but with an edge of desperation, says.

“If you got me to sit here just to taunt me…”

“I don’t intend to taunt you,” the other voice says. “But I also can’t let you be, not until I know you’re going to be okay. If you could just look at me and say-”

As they round the half-wall set to guard the Captain’s Table from some of the prying eyes, Hunk comes into proper view of the two people seated at the table set for seven. Captain Shirogane sits almost directly opposite where he and Pidge are standing, and as he looks up at them with his dark eyes, his previously grim expression melts away into a small smile. Though Hunk, after years of experience with forced politeness, can immediately tell he’s putting on an act.

“Oh, excuse me,” Shirogane says, quickly getting to his feet and approaching them, his prosthetic right arm outstretched for a handshake in their direction. “Good evening. I am Captain Shirogane, but please call me Shiro.”

Hunk returns the polite smile granted for him, taking Shirogane’s hand and shaking it. “I’m Hunk Garrett. It is an honor to meet you, Shiro.”

Shiro gives him a nod, before turning to shake hands with Pidge.

“Pidge Holt,” she says, giving him a nonchalant smile.

Shiro raises an eyebrow. “Holt?” he says, giving Pidge a quick once-over. “You wouldn’t be related to Sam and Matt Holt, would you?”

“My Dad and brother, respectively,” Pidge says, giving him a winder grin, the way she tends to when her family is mentioned. “It’s nice to know that you still remember them.”

“I could never forget. Your Dad was a great mentor and your brother a good friend to me,” Shiro says, his smile looking warmer now as well.

“My Dad always spoke well of you, too,” Pidge says.

“What a small universe we are in, huh?” Shiro says. “To think of all the people on this ship I’d have a Holt at my table tonight.”

As they keep talking, Hunk’s attention is drawn behind Shiro, to the other person at the table when they made a move to take their glass in hand and sip the liquid in it. As he takes a better look, the first thing Hunk can see is their long dark hair done up elaborately and beautifully, decorated with pearls and ribbons. They’re wearing a deep red dress with black beading and lace, as well as lovely and expensive-looking earrings decorated with large red jewels.

Hunk jumps a little as their eyes turn to him, a cold shiver running down his spine at being caught, but the other doesn’t seem to mind. They simply set down their glass and push back their chair to stand up, stepping past Shiro to Hunk, giving him a proper view of him. Hunk can hear the heels of their shoes clanking against the floor, but even with them, once the person comes to stand in front of him, Hunk can see they are still shorter than him. Under their beautiful dress, they are slender and small, enough so that if it wasn’t for the soft purple tone of their skin and the sharp shape of their ears, they might not have seemed Galra at all. Even Omega Galra are usually not this small, which given the way they dress, this person is bound to be, even if as a human Hunk can’t tell by smelling it on him.

The eyes that meet Hunk’s are a darker shade of violet than their skin, with white sclera and long lashes made even more prominent by the mascara they have on. Perhaps they’re not full Galra? That might explain why they’re so small. The full mouth that barely gives him a hint of a smile is painted black in a way that compliments the hue of their skin and the black accents in their dress, as well as their dark hair.

They raise their right hand with the back of it first, their eyes cast somewhere to their side as if they don’t really want to do it. But Hunk knows his manners with high-class Galra Omegas, and takes the hand covered in rings and brings it to his mouth, giving the back of it a light kiss.

“My name is Kiti,” the Omega says, their voice soft and husky, but deep. “It is a pleasure.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Hunk says, lowering Kiti’s hand away. “Hunk Garrett.”

“Pidge,” she says, shaking hands with Kiti the way she did with Shiro, rather than kissing it. She’s not one for much pretentious decorum.

Kiti doesn’t seem to mind, though, a corner of their mouth lifting a little in an amused smirk.

“Shall we take our seats?” Shiro speaks up, gesturing towards the table.

“Let’s,” Hunk says with a smile, following the Captain to his and Pidge’s seats right beside him as Kiti retakes their own seat, apparently not expecting anyone to pull their chair for them.

“So, Pidge, how are your dad and brother doing?” Shiro asks, watching them as Pidge and Hunk take the napkins folded into a shape that makes them able to stand on their plates and place them on their laps. “I still keep in touch with Matt, but I don’t always know how much of what he tells me is true. Like…did he really start dating an actual AI?”

“Not only that, but he plans to marry her and everything,” Pidge says, her smile in her voice. “I guess N-6 is the only one he can make to put up with him.”

As Shiro chuckles, Hunk turns to glance over at Kiti on his right side, just as they take another sip of their crystal glass filled with something that looks like water.

“Are you here by yourself?” he asks, just to make conversation.

The look Kiti gives him makes Hunk’s heart jump into his throat. Their eyes are sharp and their brows furrowed; they look almost angry, but…there’s something in the line of their mouth, something in the way their lips seem to tremble, that is almost frightened. And Hunk can’t read into what they might be thinking.

“I am here with my betrothed,” Kiti says, but their words come out more like a hiss. “He just went to the bar to get himself a drink.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Hunk stammers, just managing to keep his voice somewhat level, and only through years of practice. “I didn’t mean anything. I was just trying to be polite.”

As Kiti looks at him, their expression slowly begins to mellow, and they let out a sigh. “I’m sorry,” they say, setting their glass down on the table. “It’s been a while since I’ve needed to socialize like this. Though I suppose it’s good to get some practice in before the wedding.”

Hunk blinks. “You’re going to the royal wedding on Altea?”

Kiti’s expression softens, settling into a warm smile. “Yes,” they say. “The princess is a close personal friend of mine.”

“Ours too,” Hunk says, returning Kiti’s smile. “She’s marrying my best friend, actually.”

“The princess seems very happy with him,” Kiti says, before their eyebrows lower and lips turn down in a show of concern. “I have yet to meet him though. Do you believe he’ll make her happy? What’s your opinion as his friend, as well as hers?”

Hunk gives him a reassuring smile. “I’ve known Lance since I was a kid. He can be a little much sometimes, but when it comes to love, I think that’ll be a good thing. And he really loves Allura. I know he’ll do everything he can to make her happy. He may make mistakes from time to time, like all people, but…he’ll fix his mistakes. And he won’t take her for granted. I know he won’t.”

Kiti’s expression relaxes. “That is good to hear. I really want her to have someone who will care for her for the rest of her life the way she deserves.”

Before Hunk can respond, he hears the distinct clicking sound of high heels approaching, and looks up to see a dark-skinned Altean woman closing in on their table. She has pink, fluffy hair in a curly ponytail, thrown over her shoulder. She’s curvy, filling out her darker pink dress well. Her eyes are a magenta shade, almost blending into her purple pupils that are typical to Alteans, her flower-shaped earrings complimenting them.

“Hello, everyone,” she says with a bright smile that adds to her already striking beauty. “My name is Lali. I believe I am supposed to dine with you tonight?”

Shiro gets to his feet again, giving her a polite smile. “You’re welcome to join us, miss.”

He steps over to kiss the back of her gloved hand, and as he leads her to her seat on the other side of the table from Hunk, everyone introduces themselves to her quickly. Before Shiro has the chance to sit back down, another woman comes over to their table; this time it’s an elderly Galra with sharp features and cat-like ears, dressed all in very covering black clothes. An Alpha, most likely.

“Good evening, Captain Shirogane,” she says in the perfect prim and proper voice of an elderly matron from an old film. “Tonight, I shall feast with you. You may call me Dayak.”

“Welcome, ma’am,” Shiro says, shaking hands with her, before she takes a seat between him and Lali, not giving anyone else at the table so much as a glance.

Hunk sips his water to wash down the awkwardness, thankful that just then, the doors to the kitchen open with three lines of multiple servers pouring out like some sort of military troops, carrying plates of the first course on the menu tonight, and heading towards the tables to serve the passengers.

Hunk leans in to whisper to Kiti, “Should we wait for your betrothed?”

Kiti purses their lips, their eyebrows furrowing and their gaze icy as it looks somewhere into the horizon forward, not turning to meet Hunk’s. “He’ll come when it suits him. We can start without him.”

As the dinner begins with cold fish appetizers that caresses Hunk’s taste buds, he turns to address Lali, sitting across the table from him, the only Altean present. “Are you excited for the royal wedding?”

“Oh, very much so!” she says with a big smile, flashing her white teeth. “I wasn’t invited, but I truly hope to see the couple as they make their way through the city! It is going to be a spectacular day, I’m sure.”

Hunk hums with a nod, taking another bite of his dish, and just holding down a moan over how good it is. He just wishes it was bigger, even if he knows many more courses are to come.

“I am sad to miss the reception, I must say,” Lali continues. “I hear that a very famous dancer is going to be performing there.”

Kiti coughs very loudly, quickly setting down their glass. They pick up their napkin, appearing to struggle not to make noise as they keep trying to clear their throat.

Hunk moves to pat their back. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yes,” Kiti mutters in a hoarse voice, lowering the napkin down from their lips. “I just drank a bit too quickly.”

“Hmh,” Dayak huffs, taking a sip of her own drink. “What a crude boy. He clearly wasn’t raised to have manners.”

Hunk swallows, feeling his hair stand up. Dayak’s sharp gaze on him and Kiti makes him feel like they’re being judged no matter what they’re doing. Like Dayak is looking down at them. Probably is, in Kiti’s case, in case she really is the Alpha to his Omega, and judging by the looks of her, quite traditional as well. To her, it’s likely improper he’s here alone, and letting himself be heard rather than just seen, even if it’s not really his fault.

Once they all finish the first appetizer, the servers are quick to take away their plates, coming in soon to hand over the first hot appetizer, soup. Just as Hunk is picking up his spoon to taste some, his attention is caught by the ruckus of footsteps approaching, heavy and aggressive, and he can’t help but look up. He gulps, gripping his spoon tight in his fist, as he sees the rude, enormous Galra from the spaceport making his way towards their table, holding a glass of deep red drink in hand. He stumbles here and there as he walks, clearly already intoxicated.

He comes to stand between Kiti and the last remaining chair at the table, leaning his flesh elbow down on the surface, sipping his drink. “Did you miss me, sweetheart?”

Behind him, Hunk can see another Galra, equally purple but more slight and less furry, pull out the chair behind the rude one, letting the larger Galra plop down to sit on it.

“Lord Sendak,” Dayak speaks up, her face lighting up. “It is an honor to dine with you tonight. My name is Dayak. I have worked with the imperial royal family for years.”

The huge Galra – Sendak – raises his glass at her. “Good to know I’m not the only Alpha at this table.”

Dayak takes her own glass, raising it in his direction, before Sendak takes a sip of his drink.

“You should eat something, darling,” Kiti speaks up, his voice dry and his eyes down on his plate. “You’ve had too much to drink. Again.”

“And you’ve had too much to eat. Again,” Sendak spits out, finishing up his drink, before pounding it down on the table. “You won’t be so young and pretty forever if you don’t watch yourself.”

Kiti narrows his eyes. “As if that would stop you,” he says, and as if to be defiant, he puts his spoon in his soup and then into his mouth, eating some.

Hunk just barely has the time to hear the low growl Sendak makes at the back of his throat before the loud smack echoes through the dining hall. Sendak’s huge hand sends Kiti flying off his chair, rolling down on the floor from the strength of the slap to his small, delicate face, a soft pained noise escaping his mouth. There are shocked noises from the people around them, and even without looking, Hunk can feel they’re all watching the events unfold.

“Kiti!” Shiro cries, snapping up from his chair and running over to the fallen Galra, panting and shaking on the floor. “Are you okay?”

For a moment, Kiti looks up at Shiro on the floor through his bangs, his eyes huge and gleaming and sad and his cheek already starting to swell up. His hand starts to lift towards him. But then he bites his lip, moving to take support from the ground instead and raising himself to sit up.

“I’m fine, just leave me alone,” he says, turning away from Shiro, who looks like his heart just got stomped on.

“Well,” Dayak says, grabbing Hunk’s attention. “At least the Omega can be taught.”

Hunk swallows down the fury that burns at the back of his throat towards her, towards Sendak, and at the world that lets people like them get away with things like this; allows them to think they can treat people however they want. And at himself, for not being able to do anything about it.

He feels a touch on his hand, and it’s only as he turns to look at Pidge that he realizes he’s been holding himself tense and his hand fisted so tight it hurts. He lets himself relax some, but not too much. Let them sense his anger. At least that much he can do.

Shiro seems to feel the same way, turning to Sendak with blazing eyes. “Lord Sendak,” he says, his voice hard and his expression dark. “I won’t tolerate this sort of behavior on my ship, let alone at my table.”

“You heard my sweetheart, Shirogane. Just worry about your own business,” Sendak says, before lifting up his glass, thrusting it in the direction of the Galra who pulled out his chair for him. “Thax! Get me another.”

Calmly, as though he hadn’t seen any of what just happened, the Galra called Thax – evidently Sendak’s valet or body servant – takes the glass from him delicately. “Right away sir.”

Slowly, his body likely aching, Kiti returns to his seat, his hair a bit mussed from the tumble he took. Hunk can’t help but think he should probably see a medic. With how big their size difference is, a blow like that from Sendak might’ve done some real damage, perhaps even broken a cheekbone. He should at least put some ice on his face. But from the forlorn expression on Kiti’s face, Hunk doesn’t think he’d appreciate being told that, right now.

“My sweetheart and I can sit wherever we want on this ship,” Sendak continues in Shiro’s direction, roughly pulling Kiti to his body with his prosthetic. Hunk can see him bite the inside of his cheek. The touch of the claw must hurt, even without the pain Kiti must already be in. “You should consider yourself lucky to be able to dine with us.”

Sendak grabs his spoon in one hand and begins gulping down the soup, still holding onto Kiti like a very tense ragdoll, the only sound he makes being his hitched, high breaths.

Soon enough, Thax returns with a glass full of the red liquid Sendak was drinking earlier. Sendak grabs it, taking a large sip, without so much as a nod of thanks.

Hunk can’t bring himself to finish his soup, his stomach twisting and burning with the anger and disgust of only being able to watch all of this happen. He almost doesn’t register it when the servers come take their bowls away.

“Thax, serve me,” Sendak says as the next course is brought in.

“Yessir,” Thax says, taking the meal from the server about to put it out for Sendak, and laying it down.

Before the next course can be put before Kiti, though, Sendak growls at the Atlas server. “Do not serve my betrothed anymore tonight. Give his meal to my valet.”

“But sir…” the Atlas server stammers.

“Now!” Sendak growls, taking another sip of his drink before tucking into his cold meat.

The server gulps nervously, before handing the plate over to Thax with a confused look.

“This food is garbage,” Sendak says through his full mouth. He glances towards Shiro. “Your standards seem to be slipping, Shirogane.”

Shiro’s hold on his fork with his flesh hand tightens so much that Hunk can see his knuckles shine in the overhead lights.

“Take another ship to travel if mine makes you so unhappy,” Shiro hisses out through his clenched teeth.

“But then I’d miss out on all the fun,” Sendak says, gulping down his drink, and holding his glass out towards his manservant. “Another, Thax.”

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Shiro asks.

“I put up with a lot of things in my life, Shirogane,” Sendak says, flashing his large teeth in a grin. “So I think I should be granted my few simple pleasures.”

Hunk feels Pidge hold onto his hand tighter. As he glances in her direction, he sees she has grown pale in the face and she, just like him, hasn’t touched her meat dish. She sucks her lower lip into her mouth, looking vaguely nauseous, and Hunk can’t blame her. He’s lost his appetite completely, too.

Thax returns quickly with another glass of the same red drink that Sendak begins drinking as he finishes up his meat dish. When the servers come gather up the plates and offer the next course, most at their table hasn’t finished their meat.

Before anyone can taste the light-colored meat that resembles chicken but probably isn’t, their attention is caught by yet another series of arriving footsteps; these ones light and careful. They don’t seem like they belong to the Galra Hunk sees approaching; this one tall and lanky, with pointed ears, thin, almost gaunt face, pale lavender skin and white mohawk on top of his head. It seems strange that someone looking like that, almost like a gangster or a biker, would walk in such a silent, graceful manner.

“My lord,” the mohawk Galra says, settling between Kiti and Sendak, addressing the latter, his hand lightly touching the table beside Keith’s glass. “I’ve come to provide Master Kiti with his night medication.”

“No need for it tonight, Ulaz,” Sendak says, waving him off. “I feel like putting in some extra effort tonight. I feel like my sweetheart could use some of that as well.”

He leers past Ulaz in Kiti’s direction, licking his lips and Hunk gulps. He quickly grabs his glass of water to try and wash away the sudden bad taste in his mouth.

“Are you certain?” Ulaz says, barely raising one eyebrow, his tone not changing.

“Yes,” Sendak says firmly. “So go back to the lower decks like the servant you are, instead of straddling around like you belong up here.”

Hunk watches Ulaz’s throat bob with a swallow, the only show of emotion on him, before he bends down in a bow. “Good night, then, sir.”

He turns to go on his way, and Hunk only wishes he could be so lucky as to get to leave alongside him.

…

Every minute feels excruciating in Sendak’s presence, but the dinner finally does come to an end. Hunk’s stomach growls with hunger. He hadn’t been able to eat most of his meal out of sheer rage and discomfort. He hasn’t been able to stop staring at Kiti’s cheek, how it has swelled up more and more as dinner dragged on, starting to darken with bruising. It looks horrific, but Hunk hasn’t been able to tear his eyes away, the sight of it drawing him in with its disturbance.

“Time to go to bed, sweetheart,” Sendak says as the servers take away the dessert plates, practically ripping Kiti to his feet as he stands up.

Kiti says nothing, his lips pressed tightly together and his shoulders tense. Hunk tries to reach for his gaze, tries to find some way to silently ask if he’s okay, if there’s something he can do…but Kiti’s eyes remain firmly towards his side, as if he’s completely shut himself off from the situation. Hunk bites the inside of his mouth. He’s long since learned that you can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved, but…it still hurts, knowing what is happening right in front of him and not being able to do anything about it.

Pidge squeezes his hand, shaking her head sadly at him as he turns to look at her. The two of them wait a while for Kiti and Sendak to leave with their manservant before going on their own way back to their cabin, arm-in-arm, in silence. The hallway of their cabin cluster is deserted by the time they come to it, almost eerie in how quiet it is. It makes Hunk’s hair stand up, and he lets out a huge sigh of relief by the time he and Pidge finally manage to make it to the safety of their suite.

“You wanna order something in?” Pidge asks, removing her suit jacket and tossing it on the back of the couch. “We didn’t really get to eat much.”

“You can, if you want to,” Hunk says, trying to undo his bowtie. “I’m not really in the mood.”

Pidge’s eyebrows lower, her mouth downturned as she turns to him. She walks over, wrapping her arms around him. Her small form is comforting and familiar, her smell soothing to Hunk as he returns the hug, trying to compose himself from the burning in his throat and eyes.

“It’s not up to us to save him,” Pidge says softly into his ear.

“I know,” Hunk says. “I just wish we could do something at least…”

“Try not to think about it,” Pidge says. “It’s out of our hands. Trying to intervene could just make things worse. And this is our vacation. Let’s try not to let this ruin it.”

Hunk sighs into her hair, trying to fix her words in his mind, because he knows she has a point. But he just can’t help but think it’s not that simple. That somehow, letting this lie is going to come back to bite them in the ass.

…

Hunk and Pidge end up eating some warm sandwiches in their pajamas to tide themselves over until morning before going to bed. And despite his unease, Hunk finds himself falling asleep out of sheer exhaustion, lulled into a sense of peace by the gentle hum of the ship around him and Pidge’s breathing beside him.

At least, until he gets woken up by an ear-shattering scream that seems to even rattle the lamps and glasses and decorations in the room.

“What?” Pidge stammers next to him, sitting up with bleary eyes and messy hair. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Hunk says, cold sweat beginning to gather at his brow, his stomach rolling. “I just know it’s nothing good.”

“Well, come on,” Pidge urges, hopping off the bed and grabbing a robe to put on top of her pajamas. “We need to go find out what that was.”

“Pidge, it could be dangerous!” Hunk says, even as he shifts to put his feet on the floor as well.

“All the more reason!” Pidge says. “We need to intervene if we can!”

“Wasn’t it you who said we shouldn’t concern ourselves?” Hunk says, taking his own robe to hurriedly put on.

“That was before,” Pidge says, starting to head out of the bedroom.

Hunk sighs, but follows her on somewhat unsteady feet, out of their cabin and into the hallway, where he finds Kiti and Lali. Both of them look shaken and pale, staring towards a cabin door next to Hunk and Pidge’s, the door left wide open. Lali is holding Kiti in her arms, as if shielding him, both of them trembling and Kiti’s cheeks, one of them now very swollen and black, are wet with tear tracks.

“What happened?” Pidge asks, her voice breathless as she approaches them.

“H-he…!” Kiti stammers, his eyes huge and panicked. As he turns in Lali’s arms to point towards the door, as if unable to do anything else, Hunk sees the thin negligee he’s wearing is covered in red.

Covered in blood. It’s all over him. On his face, in his long hair left down, his clothes and his body.

He doesn’t even think. He just steps past Pidge, past Kiti and Lali, and walks into the room. He finds droplets of blood on the floor, likely left behind by Kiti as he came out. And even as more cold sweats begin to form on his skin. Hunk follows the path they leave from the the living room directly to the bedroom.

His mouth falls open, dry and unmoving in horror as he finds himself in the doorway to the room.

Sendak is lying in bed, one just as elaborate as Hunk and Pidge’s. Thax is standing beside him, hand over his mouth in shock, seeming pale as he looks down. The sheets around Sendak, his chest and fur, the floor, and the knife sticking out of Sendak’s chest…all of them are covered in blood. Sendak’s eyes are still wide open, gleaming in the semi-dark room.

Hunk has just enough time to turn around before he throws up. 


	2. Chapter 2

Everything around Hunk smells foul.

The salt of his tears and snot mixes in with the horrid sourness already in his mouth and on his lips as acidic vomit spews onto the floor, soiling the rug. The world spins around him, elevating his nausea, even as he tries to breathe evenly and gather himself. But his thoughts keep returning to that sight of Sendak, dead, bloody and with eyes wide open on his bed. Of Kiti’s pale, swollen face in tears and the blood on him. How shaken he seemed, how shocked, how unsettled.

He’s stirred out of his stupor by the small but firm touch on his upper back, stroking down his back. The hand and the way it handles him and his nerves is familiar, comforting and warm, as known to Hunk as the small bare feet he sees beside his knees and his puddle of vomit on the floor.

Hunk twists his neck to look at Pidge’s concerned, pale face; at her sucked-in mouth and the tightness in her cheeks.

“I called the ship’s emergency line,” she says softly, sounding a bit choked, still stroking his back. “Someone should be coming in soon.”

Hunk manages a nod, wiping what he can of the vomit on his lips off with the back of his hand. He tries to keep breathing, tries to calm the rapid rate of his heart, but the acid in his stomach continues to boil. Even as he tries to swallow down the taste, the smell around him is just too strong, his head is still swimming with that image of Sendak. If his stomach wasn’t completely empty already, he’d be worried about hurling again.

“Here,” a deep voice snaps Hunk out of his mind for the second time. He looks up to see Thax, smiling sympathetically down at him and holding out a glass of water for him.

“Thank you,” Hunk croaks gratefully, grabbing the glass. He takes small sips, washing away the taste of vomit, and trying to soothe his throat with the cool liquid. It helps a little, to just have something concrete to focus on.

“You were in there with the body, right?” Pidge asks Thax, and Hunk watches her point towards the bedroom. He makes sure not to turn to look there himself.

Thax gives a humming noise of agreement.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Hunk says softly. “I mean, I don’t think Sendak was a very nice man, but…”

“It is alright, sir,” Thax says. “I know very well what kind of a man my lord was. And I can’t say this came as a complete shock to me, either.” Hunk takes another shallow sip of water in lieu of answering. “You saw Master Kiti on your way here, am I correct? How is he?”

“As well as you can expect, I guess,” Pidge says, her tone nonchalant. “He’s in shock.”

“He was covered in blood,” Hunk muses, before turning to look up at Thax. “Was he the one who found the body?”

“I believe so, yes,” Thax says with a nod. “I heard Master Kiti scream and came out of my room over there.” He turns to point towards a door slightly ajar on the other side of the living room. “He was still lying in bed besides Lord Sendak, covered in his blood. It was as though that first scream was the only sound he was able to make. He was shaking, but otherwise still; as if frozen.” Thax’s throat bobs with a swallow. “I assisted him to sit up, and then managed to help him out into the hallway, where the two of us met up with Miss Lali. I felt I should come back to watch over the body as she was caring for Master Kiti.”

Hunk hums and nods, musing over the information. The water has helped clear his head, and he drinks the rest of it down, before taking a deep breath and slowly getting to his feet. He makes sure not to look in the direction of the bedroom as he starts heading out of the cabin, seeing Pidge follow from the corner of his eye. As they step back out into the hallway, they find Kiti and Lali pretty much the same spot as they had left them. Kiti, still shaking in Lali’s arms, his tears mixing in with the blood on his face, creating red running rivers.

Dayak has also joined them, with a serious expression of her already sour face. She has a black robe over her nightclothes, and her mouth is pinched and small. “Is it true?” she asks. “Is Lord Sendak truly dead?  _ Murdered _ ?”

“I’m afraid so,” Hunk says, just managing not to shudder. “It looks like he was stabbed.”

Dayak’s eyes narrow, her brows furrowing. She snaps her head around to look at Kiti. “You insolent little bitch. Did you think you would get away with this?”

Kiti looks up, his eyes bloodshot and red. “What?”

“You were quite foolish if you thought you could just come out here, and act like a victim,” Dayak hisses. “Idiotic behavior, even for an Omega. You’re completely soaked in his blood, you were in his cabin with him, and you clearly don’t know your place. You did this!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Hunk rushes out, stepping between Dayak and Kiti. “Isn’t it a bit too early to be throwing out accusations?”

“Exactly,” Lali says, tightening her hold around Kiti. “Can’t you see the state he’s in? There’s no way he could’ve done something like this!”

“And yet he seems to act like he doesn’t know who else did this either, or else someone would already be under arrest. Are you honestly claiming you didn’t see anything or hear anything in the night?” Dayak says, her hands on her hips. “You must’ve been sleeping right next to Lord Sendak. Yet you’re trying to say you didn’t wake up during such a violent attack?”

Kiti swallows hard. “I don’t know what happened,” he says, his voice hoarse but steadier than Hunk had expected. “When I woke up, I…I could smell something was off. I smelled iron, so I…” He swallows again, appearing to try and compose himself, even as his gaze becomes unfocused. As if he’s trying to distance himself from the situation, from the memory. “I turned on the lights and…there he was…”

“You expect us to believe that?” Dayak hisses. “What sort of fools do you take us for?”

Kiti averts his eyes. “It’s the truth.”

“You little…!”

“That’s enough!” Lali snaps, her eyes blazing with fury towards Dayak, her brows furrowed in anger. “Who do you think you are? This is none of your business, so stay out of it! You’re not in charge here.”

As if summoned by those words, the main door to the cabin cluster opens up to reveal Shiro, who looks like he didn’t take much time to get dressed, given the way his uniform is rumpled, and his hair mussed. It doesn’t seem to deter him or take away his dignity as Captain though, since he still stands up straight and serious, as he steps into the cabin cluster. Behind him follows the master at arms Shiro had pointed out at the welcoming ceremony the previous day. A nonchalant expression on his face and a carefree looseness in the way he moves. It’s as though he couldn’t care less about the fact a murder has just taken place on his watch.

“Well,” Dayak says with a mirthful little smile. “It seems you got what you wanted; someone in charge.”

Lali glares in her direction, but says nothing.

“What’s going on here?” Shiro asks, the small edge in his voice the only sign of his personal unsettlement, ready to take charge over the situation like the Captain he is. “When you called, Pidge, you said something about a…a murder?”

“Yeah,” Pidge says, turning to point towards the open cabin door she and Hunk just came from. “The body is in there. It’s Sendak.”

Shiro swallows, his face turning a little paler, and his eyes snap in Kiti’s direction. He allows himself a blink, before wordlessly heading inside the cabin, motioning for the master at arms to follow along. Hunk swallows as well; the emotionless expression on the face of the master at arms doesn’t sit well with him. He doesn’t think that the master at arms is used to anything of this caliber happening. He may have even taken up the position on the Atlas to get to have a cushy, easy job for himself while getting to travel around for free. Can he really be expected to solve who killed Sendak, since he doesn’t even seem to care much about it?

“You’ll go down for what you did yet,” Dayak says, pointing at Kiti, her eyes gleaming. “I’m sure the master at arms will see things my way soon enough. A few simple interviews should do it.”

Before Hunk can so much as open his mouth to say something, Shiro steps out of Kiti and Sendak’s cabin, looking another shade paler but no less regal and commanding.

“Right,” he sighs, straightening up to address them. “The master at arms is investigating the crime scene. For the moment, I suggest you all return to your cabins. Try to eat something if you can, and put on some clothes.”

“But Captain,” Dayak says, her eyes wide and alarmed. “Lord Sendak’s Omega is completely covered in his blood! Surely you can’t expect him to undress and compromise the evidence?”

Shiro turns to her, opening and closing his mouth, as if he can’t decide what to say. “…Go ask the master at arms to take photographs of you, then you can wash up and change,” Shiro says at Kiti. “You can’t go rest in your own cabin though. So afterwards, you can come with me, and…”

“No,” Kiti says, his voice and eyes suddenly equally sharp.

“Kiti…” Shiro begins, his expression softening slightly into something akin to sadness.

Before Kiti can respond for himself, Lali cuts in, “He can come stay with me for now,” she says. “I’m sure I can find something for him to wear in my things, too, since it’s probably best none of us go inside that cabin.”

Shiro’s cheek becomes sucked in, likely as he bites the inside, his throat bobbing with a heavy swallow. He seems to almost vibrate with the will to deny Lali’s suggestion. But, unable to come up with a good enough reason to do so, he just settles on a nod that looks painful with how stiff it is. “Do that, then,” he says. “Come along, for now, Kiti. I’ll talk to Rolo with you.”

“May I come along as well?” Lali asks. “I don’t wish to be alone, with everything that is going on. And I don’t think Kiti should be alone either.”

“Fine,” Shiro says with a nod. “Just don’t touch anything in the cabin.”

The three of them turn to head inside Kiti and Sendak’s cabin, as Dayak turns around to return to her own.

Hunk feels Pidge take a hold of his hand, and start pulling him along as well. “Come on.”

Hunk follows her silently, but can’t help giving that open cabin door Kiti, Lali and Shiro stepped through one last glance over his shoulder.

…

As soon as the door to their cabin slides shut behind them, Pidge turns to face Hunk down, looking up at him from below her brows, her eyes narrowed and gleaming. It’s the look she gets when she knows she’s onto something, when she knows she knows more than the person she’s giving that expression to. It’s a face Hunk has seen many times, directed at both himself and others. It’s familiar and he’s used to it after all these years; seeing it barely fazes him now.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she says, putting her hands on her hips.

“Then why don’t you enlighten me,” he says, stepping past her to head towards their bedroom to find himself some clothes.

“You don’t think Kiti did this,” Pidge says, the way her voice gets closer telling Hunk she’s followed him even without turning around. “And you don’t trust the master at arms to investigate, or figure it out.”

“Can you say that you do, then?” Hunk says, starting to unbutton his pajama top. “You saw him. He doesn’t even care.”

“It’s none of our business,” Pidge says, her voice firm. “And honestly, how can you know Kiti didn’t do it? You have to admit, his story about sleeping though all of it is less than believable. Not to mention he had the best means and the biggest motive to do it.”

“I know that,” Hunk hisses, glancing at her over his shoulder with fire of anger burning at his core. “But I also know that if there’s one thing Dayak is right about it, it’s that if Kiti is handed off to the authorities in Daibazaal like this, there’s no way he’s going to get a fair trial. All people will see is an Omega who thought too highly of himself; an Omega who dared to try and hurt an Alpha.” He begins removing his pajama top off his shoulders and down his arms. “I don’t want to see that happen without having at least tried to do something. I won’t.”

“Hunk,” Pidge says, her voice a little softer, as Hunk hears her step up behind him. He allows himself to turn around to face her, to see her pained expression. “You’ve got a good heart, and I love you for it. But what do you expect us to do?”

“Let’s find out what happened, for real,” Hunk says, looking Pidge straight in the eyes. “I’m sure we can figure it out, better than that master at arms at least. We can conduct our own investigation.”

“Will the others even talk to us though?” Pidge says. “They have no reason to. We’re not cops.”

“We have to at least try,” Hunk says. “I’m sorry, Pidge, but I can’t just let this go. Kiti needs someone in his corner right now. It might as well be us.”

Pidge swallows, her eyes darting around the room for a bit, before they return to Hunk’s face. “…What if he did do it though? What will you do then?”

Hunk sucks in a breath. He lets it out slowly, trying to remain calm, knowing that her concern is valid. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” he says. “But before that, we have to be sure. That’s all I ask.”

Pidge lets out a sigh of her own, shaking her head. “I guess there’s no changing your mind when you’re like this.”

“You know me,” Hunk says, managing a near playful smile down at her. “I need to discover things. And I know someone else who does too.” He wraps his arms around her. “And I don’t think I can do this without her.”

Pidge lets out a laugh, shaking her head again. “Fine, fine, you win,” she says, puffing air through her bangs. “I’ll help you.”

Hunk leans down to peck her lips. “Thank you.”

Once they part, Pidge licks her lips, and looks up at him again. “Where should we start?”

“Let’s get dressed first,” Hunk says. “I’ve got a plan.”

…

About half an hour later, Hunk knocks on the last door at the back of the cabin cluster; the one that has to belong to Lali.

It doesn’t take long before she comes to open the door, now dressed for the day, though much more casually when compared to yesterday’s finery. She has her hair in a bun, a pretty skirt, a white button-down and white leggings on. And as she sees who is behind the door, her eyes narrow and her mouth downturns in a frown. “Is there something you two need?”

“With everything that has happened, as you said yourself before, I don’t think any of us should be alone right now,” Hunk says with a small, soft smile. “Would you mind if we joined you and Kiti for a while?”

Lali’s mouth thins. “I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea. Kiti is very rattled.”

Pidge steps a bit more forward, her brows furrowed, carrying her tablet under her arm. “Look, I’m gonna be real with you, because it looks like you care about Kiti,” she says. “You heard what Dayak said before, and she has a point. The way she sees things is probably how most people are going to assume things went.”

“But we want to provide alternative theories for ways in which Sendak could’ve been killed,” Hunk continues. “I don’t think Kiti did this. But in order for us to prove that, we’re going to have to talk to him and others.”

Lali frowns. “You don’t trust the master at arms to prove Kiti didn’t do this?”

“So you don’t think he did?” Pidge asks.

“Of course not!” Lali cries. “You saw the way he was before. Do you honestly think someone who reacted like that could’ve committed a murder?”

“I don’t know what I think yet,” Pidge says.

“But one thing we think for sure is that the master at arms doesn’t have the desire to properly get to the bottom of this,” Hunk cuts in. “I don’t think he’s cut out for a crime like this. He’ll look at the most obvious perpetrator, and he might not even consider any other possibilities. You saw how he looked at Kiti when you went in, can you tell me otherwise?”

Lali swallows, her face turning a little ashy. “…No, I suppose not,” she says. “The only reason I think he didn’t immediately arrest him, was because Captain Shirogane insisted he find some actual proof first; look at the body properly and so on.”

“We just want to help,” Hunk says, looking at Lali with pleading eyes. “We just want to find out the truth.”

Lali looks him in the eyes with her magenta-colored ones. For a second, Hunk could swear…

Before he can finish that thought, Lali steps away from the doorway. “Come on inside then. You might as well join Kiti and I for breakfast; it should be arriving at any moment now.”

Hunk gives her a grateful, happy smile, suddenly realizing just how hungry he is. “Thank you.”

He and Pidge step inside Lali’s cabin, right into her living room, one much like their own. She leads them through the rooms to her own private lounging deck. The windows have been set to a warm summer’s day with green fields, and clear blue skies opening up before them in the glass. Occasional artificial birdsong and river running can be heard, and the room is warm in a perfect, pleasant way, like they’re sitting in a pleasant shade from the hottest sun.

Kiti is seated at the table, and he looks up in surprise at seeing them come in. Lali has evidently given him some clothes to wear; he has on white sweatpants and a pink knitted pullover that looks a little big on him, but in a way that only makes him seem more adorable and vulnerable. Despite his mild surprise, he seems a lot more at ease than before, his body language relaxed and loose. He’s clean of the blood, his dark hair braided loosely over his shoulder, no earrings in at all, no makeup on.

He looks the most natural Hunk has ever seen him so far, even with the huge bruise still obvious on his cheek.

“Hey,” Hunk says, granting a soft smile in Kiti’s direction. “We thought we’d join you for breakfast.” Kiti nods silently. “How are you feeling?”

Kiti shrugs, drawing his legs up into the chair, holding them tight to his body, leaning his head down. “I’m just trying to make sense of it all.”

“I think we all are,” Hunk says softly, taking a seat opposite to Kiti. Pidge comes to sit beside him, her tablet in her lap, and Lali opposite to her beside Kiti.

“Hang in there a little while longer,” Lali says kindly, turned towards Kiti. “Ulaz should arrive soon.”

Hunk blinks. “Ulaz? Your doctor?”

“Thax suggested we ask him to give Kiti something to help soothe his nerves,” Lali explains. “And for the pain, too.” She gives a quick glance towards his cheek.

Hunk nods. “You should probably put some ice on it too.”

“I already did,” Kiti mumbles, still not looking directly at Hunk. Like this, he reminds Hunk of the way he was last night, when he and Sendak were leaving. Like he’s completely cut himself off from the situation, locking himself up tight in his mind. He’s conscious enough to react to what is happening, but not enough to actually feel it or dwell on it. Like his mind is trying to guard him from taking on too much.

Before Hunk can think too much more about it, someone else’s knock on the door sounds through the room. Lali gets up from her seat, patting Kiti’s shoulder in a supportive manner as she passes him, stepping away from the lounging deck.

The atmosphere immediately feels tighter, more tense. It makes a cold sweat break out at the back of Hunk’s neck, not knowing what to say to Kiti; how to make him feel better, make him feel like they’re on his side. How to make him talk more than a few words, to discover what exactly he knows.

Thankfully Lali returns soon, along with both Thax, carrying a thin silver tray in one hand, and Ulaz. Both Galra immediately make their way over to Kiti, causing him to look up with blank eyes.

Ulaz holds out a small wrap that vaguely resembles a cigarette for him. Or rather, a joint, which Hunk estimates is probably more correct. Some sort of Galra drug to be smoked. “For your nerves,” he says with a nod. “It should aid with the pain as well.”

Kiti takes the joint between two fingers, his expression not so much as twitching.

“I brought your cigarette holder as well,” Thax says, lowering his hand with the tray, revealing the thin, long, black stick on it, as well as a silver lighter.

Kiti takes the cigarette holder in his free hand, quickly attaching the joint at one end of it. Thax moves to ignite it with the lighter. Kiti puts the other end of the holder at his lips, taking a long inhale that sucks his thin cheeks deep. As he pulls the end of the cigarette holder away from his lips and releases his breath, pink smoke leaves his mouth, accompanied by a sweet smell; almost like earth strawberries.

“Thank you both,” Kiti says, showing them the first smile Hunk’s seen on him today. “And sorry, too. For all of this.”

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry for, Master Kiti. You needn’t concern yourself with us,” Ulaz says, his voice coming out surprisingly gentle. “Just look out for yourself for now.”

“Still,” Kiti says, letting out a long sigh to his side. “I’ll…I’ll sell some of my jewelry when we get to Altea. The money can serve as your severance pay. And I’ll write you both recommendations.”

“You don’t have to do that, Master Kiti,” Thax says.

“I think you can stop with the ‘master’ now, too, Thax,” Kiti says, letting out a humorless chuckle. “Without Sendak, I’m nothing, and we all know it. Least of all anyone’s master.” He takes another drag of his joint. “I can’t do anything for you like this either. But let me help you along on your way. You both deserve at least that much.”

Thax’s throat bobs with a hard swallow, his cheeks sucking in.

“Excuse me,” Hunk speaks up, drawing Ulaz and Thax’s eyes on himself. He swallows, trying not to let their suspicious gazes deter himself. “Ulaz, right?” The lankier Galra nods. “Since we’re all here, there’s actually something I wanted to ask you. Kiti’s been saying that he was asleep last night when the murder took place. That he didn’t wake up at all or hear or see anything. Do you know anything about that, as his doctor? Like…is he a heavy sleeper, or something?”

Ulaz worries his lower lip, revealing a bit of sharp, white teeth. “…I know why he didn’t awaken, yes,” he says after a moment. “Master Kiti usually takes something to help him sleep at night. It is what I was bringing him the previous quintant at dinner.”

“But Lord Sendak asked you not to give it to him, right?” Pidge cuts in, narrowing her eyes as she looks up from her tablet.

“Yes,” Ulaz confirms, his yellow eyes darting to his side. “However…I found myself not obeying, especially once I saw the bruise forming on Master Kiti’s face. So, I slipped the medication into Master Kiti’s drink before I left the table.”

“The dinner lasted for a while after that, though,” Pidge points out. “Does the medication not take effect fast?”

“If it’s drunk slowly in a glass, it does not take effect immediately,” Ulaz says.

Pidge turns towards Kiti. “Did you drink slowly?”

“I…” he muses, pausing to inhale more smoke from his drug. “I…think so? I can’t really remember. A lot of last night is…”

“If it’s unclear or blurry to you, I think it’s fair to say you might’ve been under the influence,” Hunk says gently. Perhaps Kiti’s strange behavior the night before was at least partially due to drugs, then. He turns to look up at Ulaz once more. “Can it be proven Kiti took that drug last night? So we can know for sure he was asleep?”

“Yes,” Ulaz says with a nod. “I can do such a test myself. I have the kit for it, since the intake of the medicine needs to be monitored.”

“Could you do the test, so we can see?” Hunk asks. “Just so no one questions Kiti’s lack of reaction in this matter.”

“Of course,” Ulaz says. “Let me return to my cabin to get my gear. I will return momentarily.”

He gives them a polite nod in farewell, before turning and heading out the same way he came from moments before.

“You should go, too, Thax,” Kiti says, taking in another drag. “You’re not a servant anymore, and I can manage by myself until we get to Altea. Enjoy the Atlas while we’re here. Take the rest of the journey like a holiday or something.”

Thax’s expression tenses up, and for a moment it looks like he’s going to argue. But in the end, all he does is bow down in respect. “Very well.”

As he turns to leave, Hunk jumps out of his seat. “I’ll walk you out.”

Thax blinks in a show of confusion, but he nods soon enough, and Hunk follows him out of the lounging deck.

As soon as the door slides shut behind them, Hunk says in a lowered voice, “I wanted to ask you something, too. Before, you said it didn’t come as a shock to you that Lord Sendak would die like this.”

“That’s correct,” Thax says with a nod.

“Why is that?” Hunk asks.

Thax sighs. “My lord, he was…” he starts, before swallowing. “I suppose it is no good to speak ill of the dead, but…”

“Please,” Hunk says, taking a step closer to him. “Tell me, if you know anything. Kiti’s future could depend on it.”

“I…don’t know all the details, but it wasn’t a secret that Lord Sendak was involved with some shady deals, back on Daibazaal,” Thax says. “For that alone, he had many gunning for his head on both sides of the law. And lately…”

Hunk licks his lips. “…Lately?”

“He’d been getting some threatening notes,” Thax says. “Anonymous, of course. But they made it quite clear they were coming for him, and they weren’t happy. I imagine they must have gotten onto this ship with malicious plans.

Hunk gulps. “But how did they get into the cabin cluster?”

“That I cannot say,” Thax says. “Perhaps they stole an extra key, or snuck in somehow. Or perhaps they’re in disguise here, as a passenger.”

Hunk licks his lips, trying to compose himself. “Why did you choose to work for Lord Sendak, given all of this?” Hunk asks. “Sounds like a bad deal in more than one way.”

“Lord Sendak wasn’t perfect by any means, as an employer or otherwise,” Thax admits. “But he paid me well and was the only one willing to take me on when I was looking for work. The good side of being employed by someone not morally upstanding is that they have very little to judge you on.”

“I suppose,” Hunk muses. “What are you planning to do next, now that he’s gone? It sounds like Kiti won’t be able to keep you.”

“I am uncertain of what I shall do,” Thax admits. “Likely I’ll simply look for new opportunities. Try to find my way in this changed world.”

“I see,” Hunk says with a nod. “Thank you for talking to me.”

“It was my pleasure,” Thax says with a nod, heading towards the main entrance of the cabin. He gives Hunk one last glance over his shoulder before he leaves. “Good day to you.”

He presses his palm on the signal pad and the door slides open before him, letting him slip through. Hunk waits until the door has closed once more before he turns around and returns to the lounging deck. Everyone’s eyes turn to him as he comes in, and he can see the way Pidge and Lali’s shoulders relax with a relieved breath out. Kiti’s body language has loosened, leaving him casually lying back in his wicker chair, still smoking his joint. His eyes have taken on a slightly glazed look, but rather than being tense and agitated, he now seems content and relaxed; dazed with the effects of the drug.

“I hope the breakfast arrives soon,” Kiti says, his voice sounding wavy and musical, as Hunk takes his seat again. “I’m starving.”

“I guess it’s a good thing what you saw earlier hasn’t spoiled your appetite,” Hunk says, attempting a smile.

“It’s the drug,” Kiti says, tapping the end of his joint on the side of the crystal ashtray on the table between them. It makes the burnt ashes fall off and into the dish. “It makes me hungry.”

Hunk hums to show he’s heard him, the idea of the drug as a joint becoming more and more apt in his mind. But…this daze, could be useful for him and Pidge, and thereby to Kiti himself, now. In his inebriated state, he might be less likely to lie. Perhaps like this, they can get some sense of what really happened last night.

Hunk gives Pidge a quick, meaningful glance, before turning back to Kiti. “I’d like to ask you something,” he begins. “Thax mentioned to me that Sendak had many enemies?”

Kiti snorts. “Are you surprised? When he acted the way he did?”

“No. It doesn’t,” Hunk says, keeping his voice even. “But he said something about him being involved with some ‘shady deals?’ Do you know anything about that?”

“Not directly from him, if that’s what you’re asking,” Kiti says, inhaling more of the sweet smoke. “Sendak kept me in the dark about his work. But some of his crimes are pretty well-known on Daibazaal, so it’s not like I was completely ignorant of everything. Even if most of it happened before I was even born.”

Hunk swallows. “…And he’s still walking free?”

Kiti breaks down laughing; a miserable, pained bark pouring out of his throat. “Sendak had people everywhere working for him. It would’ve been impossible to find anyone to convict him, even without the Emperor’s favor. He knows too much about everyone and everything. A man like that can’t be caught. He can’t be punished.”

“So there would likely be people who would want him dead?” Pidge cuts in, looking up from her tablet. “People who might have grudges?”

“I’m sure there would be,” Kiti says, lifting his chin and raising his eyes to the ceiling. “It doesn’t even have to be that deep. Maybe he just pissed off the wrong money lender, in the end. Who knows?”

“But how did they get in, if that’s the case?” Pidge says. “There wasn’t that much time after dinner until the doors of the cabin cluster locked. I don’t think anyone would’ve had the time to kill him, especially if they didn’t want to be seen.”

“Like I said, who knows?” Kiti says, shrugging. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be that difficult to find a way to get in.”

Pidge narrows her eyes. “You don’t seem worried,” she says. “Your betrothed has just been murdered next to you, and you don’t seem to care. Don’t you think suspicion is gonna fall on you? You had the best means, and given what happened last night in front of dozens of people, plenty of motive too.”

Lali gives her a sharp look, but all Kiti himself does is take another drag of his joint, blowing out a soft cloud of smoke towards the ceiling.

“Maybe I should be sad, or worried,” he says, his voice sounding strangely thick and forced. “But the truth is, I don’t really care either way.”

Hunk blinks. “You don’t?”

“Sendak wasn’t a good man,” Kiti spits. “And I suppose a part of me is relieved he’s gone. But he was also all I had. And now he’s gone, and I’m all alone again.”

He turns his eyes towards his side, biting his lip, seeming to try and get a hold of himself.

Lali reaches out, placing her hand on his shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “You’re not alone.”

“Right,” Hunk cuts in to say. “I mean, you said Princess Allura is your friend, right? And surely you have family to go back to on Daibazaal too?”

Kiti snorts, giving Hunk a painful, bitter glance that chills him to the bone. “If only.”

Pidge leans forward. “You really don’t have anyone else?”

“I grew up in an orphanage, if you must know,” Kiti hisses, taking a long drag, as if to calm himself or settle his emotions. “I was left at their doorstep, only a few days old, with nothing more than a first name to go with me. I have no clue who my parents even are.”

Hunk sees Pidge swallow, lowering her eyes in embarrassment. He does the same trying to regain his composure. A part of him wonders if he should point out that Kiti also clearly has Shiro, if he were to accept his assistance, since Shiro clearly seems to care for him… But given how cold Kiti has been towards the Captain, he thinks that after the previous blunder, it might be better not to open that can of worms right now.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says softly, instead.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Kiti says, though his words still come out biting and bitter. “It’s more common than you think. Children born between a non-Galra and Galra, out of wedlock, or the runts of a litter…a lot of them are abandoned. I could be any one of those things, or even all of them.”

He taps more of the burnt joint into the ashtray with his fingers. “Sendak was the only one who ever showed any kind of interest in me, growing up. I still don’t know why exactly. At my orphanage, outsiders could pick out kids to personally finance, for school and stuff. Being our sponsors, essentially.”

Hunk blinks. “And Sendak was yours?”

Kiti nods. “It was because of him that I was able to go to school, and go through my…training. I was able to gain employment, and when I was grown, he sought me out for the first time. From that we just…grew, I guess. After all, I owed him a lot. My whole life, essentially.”

Hunk’s stomach turns and he gulps down his discomfort at such a notion. Perhaps thinking this way is what led Kiti to being so casual about his clear abuse at Sendak’s hands. It’s not enough to absolve him, but Hunk can’t help but feel that all of this is vital information towards figuring out this case.

Before anyone can say anything further, a new knock sounds from the cabin door.

“I’ll go get it,” Hunk offers, quickly getting to his feet, grateful for the chance to get to clear his head a little.

He makes his way quickly towards the door, using the touchpad to open it, revealing Ulaz standing behind it, carrying a brown bag.

He holds it up for Hunk to see better. “I have brought the equipment for the test.”

Hunk nods, giving him a smile, before stepping out of his way. “Come in.”

Ulaz steps inside, and Hunk follows him back to the lounging deck. Once there, Ulaz quickly gets to work, setting down his bag and opening it. He draws out an empty syringe.

“Arm, please, Master Kiti,” he says.

Kiti holds out his left arm. Ulaz ties a band around his bicep, before putting the needle into a vein lower down, drawing some blood. Once satisfied, he takes out a vial from his bag, pouring the blood into it, before handing Kiti a band aid for his arm.

Still holding up the vial of blood, Ulaz takes out a small bottle from his bag. “If someone has consumed the drought I gave to Master Kiti within the last twenty vargas, the blood will turn blue when it comes in contact with this liquid,” he explains, opening the bottle with his thumb, before dripping some into the vial. The blood bubbles a little, before taking on a deep, midnight blue shade.

“That proves it then. Kiti really was asleep,” Hunk says with a smile.

“Is it possible to get a better time estimate?” Pidge asks. “Like, how long exactly the drug was active?”

“I’m afraid not,” Ulaz says. “But the effects don’t usually last for more than ten vargas, so given the time he woke, you can deduce he was indeed asleep when the murder occurred.”

“Except we don’t know the time of death yet,” Pidge points out.

“What she means is, Ulaz, thank you. We’re grateful you did this for us,” Hunk cuts in. “Can you tell me, though; how strong exactly is this drug?”

“It depends on the amount given to the patient,” Ulaz says. “It can be used to merely help them fall asleep better and sleep deeper, or it can place the patient in a state of complete unconsciousness. Given that Master Kiti barely ate last night, the amount I gave him would make him very unlikely to rouse even during the murder.”

“Was it just because he didn’t eat that much that the drug had such a strong effect on him?” Pidge presses on. “Or was there something else going on with the amount you gave him?”

The expression on Ulaz’s face grows tense, his cheeks tightening as he purses his lips, his shoulders tense with nerves and agitation. He licks his lips, glancing in Kiti’s direction.

Kiti sighs, his eyes slipping closed. “It’s not the first time I’ve taken enough to completely knock me out,” he says, voice bitter and strained, before he takes a quick drag of his joint. “You saw what Sendak was like in public. He was much the same in private, including in bed. Sometimes it was just easier to sleep through it all. He liked me submissive, and at least unconscious I was relaxed for him and didn’t feel most of the pain.”

Nausea churns at the pit of Hunk’s stomach, and he swallows hard to try and keep the bile down.

He doesn’t know how to respond. How can Kiti talk about something so horrible, so casually? Is it just because he’s high or has he just completely cut himself off from feeling anything of the treatment he’s endured? Has he truly convinced himself that this is all he deserves in life?

“Sometimes he liked it when I put up a fight, though,” Kiti continues, as though he hadn’t just dropped a huge bomb. As if the atmosphere hadn’t just become a whole lot more agitated. “Usually when it meant he could put me back in my place; could punish me properly. That’s what he was in the mood for last night, I guess, since I talked back at him and all.”

“But…you still gave him the drug, Ulaz?” Pidge says, sounding more than a little choked up, her face pale and her shoulders shaking. Hunk is frankly impressed she even has the capacity to ask any questions, especially given that he himself feels like his voice has become locked up in his throat.

“I…I have to admit, I felt badly for Master Kiti,” Ulaz says, shifting from one foot to the other nervously. “I wasn’t sure how else I could aid him, to spare him at least a little bit of the pain, than to let him sleep through it all, like normal.”

Hunk swallows down more bile. It’s not really his place to say anything or judge, but he can’t help but wonder how much of a relief or mercy it can really be, if the choice is between being drugged to sleep or being awake during your rape. Especially given that last night, Kiti was essentially roofied without his consent or knowledge. If not any other time, when he at least took the drugs out of his own volition, then last night Ulaz’s actions might’ve done him more harm than good, in more ways than one. Hunk has heard that many times it can be even more traumatizing to be forced into sex when it happens while the victim is unconscious or delirious; because afterwards they won’t be able to piece together what exactly happened to fully comprehend it and through that, start to move past it.

Before Hunk can make up his mind, his thoughts are cut off by yet another round of knocks on the door.

“I should go on my way, if that is everything,” Ulaz says. “I can open the door, on my way out.”

“Thank you,” Lali says, though her voice comes out sounding forcibly calm and even, like she’s doing everything she can to not let emotion color her tone. Her complexion has turned ashy with paleness.

Hunk can’t blame her. Even as the Atlas valet finally brings in the delicious-smelling, ample breakfast for them to enjoy, all Hunk can still taste is the disgusting, sour taste returning to his mouth.

Despite barely eating last night either, he finds he has lost his appetite once more.

…

It’s as Hunk is watching Kiti devour his third pastry during one breakfast for the lack of anything better to do, since he himself is not eating, that yet another knock sounds on the door of the cabin.

“Let me go open up,” Lali says, getting to her feet from her chair. “It’s probably the master at arms now, finally.”

Hunk gives her a silent nod, sipping on his glass of freshly squeezed amla juice, sweet and soothing on his tongue, as he watches her leave the lounging deck. As he sets his glass down, he sees Kiti set down his pastry, reaching for his cup of tea instead, his cheeks looking pale under his bruising. It’s the only real sign of nerves he shows over what is about to happen, but Hunk is willing to take whatever he can get. If Kiti is even a little bit nervous to be questioned, maybe there’s still fight in him; still hope that he won’t go down for a crime he didn’t commit. If that’s the case, it’ll be much easier for Hunk and Pidge to help him.

His heart hammers in his chest as he looks up to see Lali and the master at arms return to the deck.

“Good morning, everyone,” the man says, his voice low and detached, his body language as loose and relaxed as Hunk has come to expect from him. “In case some of you don’t know, my name is Rolo, and I work as the master at arms here on the Atlas.”

Hunk gives him a courtesy wave of his hand as everyone around him either murmurs their returned “good mornings” or nod in greeting at Rolo.

“Right then,” Rolo starts as Lali rounds behind Keith and returns to her seat. “Kiti, wasn’t it?” Kiti nods. “Would you prefer the others weren’t here while I talk you through the case and you give your statement in return?”

“It’s fine if they’re here,” Kiti says. “I’d actually feel better for it.”

Hunk presses his lips together. Any detective worth their salt would know that to have witnesses, who might also be suspects, together while even one of them is being questioned is not the proper way to do things. After all, if someone is trying to protect someone else, they can all match their stories together, if they all know what is being said.

Not that he’s going to mention it now. This honestly works out best for him and Pidge. At least this way they won’t have to ask any more questions of Kiti themselves and they’ll also find out what the master at arms knows.

“Alright then,” Rolo says, pulling out a pad from his satchel. He presses it with his finger a few times, before evidently finding what he was looking for. “According to the examination of the resident Atlas medic, Lord Sendak’s time of death is set at one in the morning, four vargas after the dinner and three after the cabin clusters were locked. The cause of death was bleeding to death from multiple stab wounds that seemed to be given in frantic rage. He was likely stabbed while he was asleep.”

He looks up from his tablet, directly at Kiti. “The blood pattern on your negligee does match the spot left clear in the bed by your body, so for now you can retain your freedom, as long as you don’t go to the crime scene. But don’t think I’ve discounted you as a suspect yet. Everyone saw your argument last night at dinner. That alone is motive enough.”

Kiti nods wordlessly.

“So,” Rolo continues. “Can you give me your side of the events? What happened last night according to your own words?”

“I didn’t think anything unusual was going on,” Kiti says, twirling his teacup around on the saucer, not turning to face Rolo. “This cabin cluster was chosen in the draw during the opening ceremony to dine at the Captain’s Table, so Sendak and I were there too. He got pretty intoxicated, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary for him either. He liked to cut loose whenever we’d travel.”

He takes a sip of his tea. “I can’t recall much of what happened later. I have vague memories of Sendak leading me back to our cabin, and I must’ve changed into my nightwear and laid down to rest, but…”

“You expect me to believe that?” Rolo says, raising an eyebrow. “Like you expected me to think you could’ve slept through an entire murder?”

“It’s the truth,” Kiti says. “Our personal physician can confirm it. He just recently explained to us all that he’d spiked my drink during dinner. It knocked me out completely.”

Rolo turns to address Hunk and Pidge. “Is this true?”

“We saw him test Kiti’s blood and everything,” Hunk says, his voice low. “You can ask him too, when you interview him.”

Rolo makes a humming sound at the back of his throat, before turning back to Kiti. “And was this your first time on the Atlas?”

“No,” Kiti says. “Whenever we could, we would travel on this ship. And we travelled quite a lot due to my betrothed’s business deals.”

Rolo raises his head, likely to see the rest of the table better. “And what about the rest of you? What did you do last night around one?”

“Now, sir, there is no reason to suspect me, is there?” Lali says, leaning forward with her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t even meet the victim before last night. What motive would I have to kill him?”

“The same goes for the both of us,” Hunk says, gesturing to himself and Pidge. “But for what it’s worth, we were asleep next to each other in bed, so we can be each other’s alibi.”

“And you’d wake up if the other got up?” Rolo asks.

“Pidge would,” Hunk says. “She’s a light sleeper. The smallest sound can wake her up.”

“And I didn’t hear anything last night, from Hunk or from the corridor or anywhere else. I would know if he got up,” Pidge says.

Rolo hums again, tapping at his tablet a few times. “If it wasn’t for the fact that only a few people could enter this cabin cluster during the murder, I might not have a reason to suspect you three. But given the way things are…”

Hunk licks his lips. Generally, Rolo would have had to at least talk to them, to see if they’d seen or heard anything during the night. To judge if they were even suspects. But he’s not going to mention that either. Not now.

“Did anyone from the staff come in after the curfew?” Hunk asks instead. “To deliver something for example? Pidge and I ordered some sandwiches before we went to sleep, though that was before the curfew.”

“I’ve already talked with the staff. No one came in here after the curfew,” Rolo says. “For the moment, I’m only looking into the people in this cabin cluster.”

“Why?” Pidge asks, leaning forward. “We’re not the only ones who can get in here. There are master keys, right?”

Rolo narrows his eyes at her. “You’re not suggesting the Captain…”

“I’m not suggesting anything,” Pidge says. “I’m just saying. We’re not the only ones who could get inside.”

Rolo’s throat bobs with a swallow. “The master keys aren’t easy to get access to.”

“Maybe,” Pidge says, shrugging. “But it’s something to think about.”

Rolo clears his throat. “Well, I guess that’s it for the moment,” he says. “I still need to talk to the other passengers.” He turns to Kiti once more. “You and your betrothed were travelling with your personal valet, right? And he was staying with you in the servant room?” Kiti nods. “Do you know where I can find him? And your physician?”

“I suspect they went down to the servants’ quarters in the lower decks to have breakfast,” Kiti says.

“Then I’ll look for them there,” Rolo says. “I’ll talk to the rest of you later. Good day to you all.”

Hunk doesn’t feel like pointing out that Rolo didn’t even ask about Lali’s whereabouts. He’s just glad he’s leaving, even if it was because he felt humiliated by Pidge. Honestly, that’s a nice bonus, if anything. As he listens to the sound of Rolo’s retreating footsteps, he allows himself a long breath out once the sound of the cabin door sliding open and closed reaches his ears.

“Well,” Pidge speaks up, before Hunk can even properly catch his breath. “I think we’re just about done with breakfast, so we best be going too.” She gets to her feet, holding her tablet to her chest, looking directly ahead, her eyes looking almost panicked.

“Are you sure?” Lali asks. “I don’t mind if you stay.”

Hunk tries to catch Pidge’s gaze, to try and silently ask her what’s wrong, what she’s doing; but she won’t respond to him. She just keeps staring blankly ahead. And he knows that she would feel his gaze like this, so she must be avoiding it on purpose.

He swallows. Pidge chose to trust and help him, like always. He needs to do the same, in kind. He stands up as well. “No, I think Pidge’s right. We should all get some rest, and try and gather our thoughts after everything.”

Lali nods. “I suppose you’re right.”

“I’m glad you could join us,” Kiti says, actually giving them a bit of a smile.

“It was our pleasure,” Hunk says, returning the smile. “Good day.”

He gives them a final nod of farewell, before walking out of the lounging deck with Pidge, following her through and out of Lali’s cabin, and across the corridor back into their own. He bites the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting with questions, knowing they could be listened to. He needs to wait until they’re safe.

As soon as the door to their cabin slides shut behind them, though, he opens his mouth, “Pidge, what the hell?”

Pidge fists her free hand up tight, her shoulders tensing before she turns around to look at him. Her face is white as a sheet, her eyes wild and open and panicked. She thrusts her tablet towards Hunk. “You need to look at this. I did some digging into Sendak during breakfast, given everyone’s statements about him.”

Hunk blinks, but quickly accepts the tablet. He begins to read.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs specific to this chapter: talk of child kidnapping and death in the past, ransom demands, early birth that results in death of both the child and the one giving birth, suicide, corrupt justice systems, torture.
> 
> Sorry that I'm only putting this up now, work has been horrible.
> 
> Hope you're all taking care during the pandemic ❤︎.

Nausea churns with more and more acidic flames in Hunk’s stomach, the longer he reads the articles Pidge had pulled up. Yet he can’t make himself stop devouring the words, taking them in with an almost desperately sick urge. The text laid before him draws him in like a magnetic, painful pull that makes the world around him disappear as his head swims with images.

Images of the people he reads about in the articles, coming to life and starting to move across his eyes like they were in the room with him. Images of little three-year-old heiress, Acxa Orgkana, whom Sendak had mercilessly abducted from her home in Daibazaal’s countryside close to thirty years ago. In order to agree to return her to her family, he had demanded a ransom of 200,000 Intergalactic Common Currencies. And Acxa’s wealthy, loving parents, who had only wanted to see their daughter returned, had paid the money, praying every night for their child.

But little Axca was never returned home safe and sound, even after the ransom money had been paid. Instead, her parents found her cold, stiff body left on their doorstep. Her eyes frozen open in forever immortalized terror and pain, her once beautiful clothes ripped and her tiny limbs bloody and tattered.

Finding her like this first thing in the morning, unable to stop imagining what sort of horrors and abuse she must’ve endured during her last moments alive – how lonely and scared and in pain she must’ve been – caused Acxa’s mother to go into an early labor with the second child she was carrying at the time. The baby came fast, and there was no time for any medical help to arrive, the law enforcement present was helpless in the face of this unfolding tragedy. All they could do was watch Madam Orgkana bleed to death in her husband’s arms, and receive the newborn baby, who was born alive.

The new baby was rushed to the hospital with their father. But the difficulties of the birth and their early arrival proved to be too much, and the sickly newborn didn’t live to see the next morning dawn. His heart now broken beyond repair, Acxa’s father couldn’t bring himself to face another morning either.

Their own hearts torn with anguish and loss, Madam Orgkana’s family and friends demanded justice for what had happened to her and her family, as did most of Daibazaal, who had followed the events unfolding in the media. Sendak was brought up on charges, but little by little, evidence linking him to the kidnapping began to vanish – even as the autopsy revealed little Acxa had died less than one hour after she’d been taken. The whole planet demanded Sendak’s head for that and for the three additional lives on his consciousness, but he walked away free, the money he had received for his crimes stashed away safely for his use upon the clearing of his charges.

For many years afterwards, he faded out from the public eye, letting the dust settle and people forget what he’d done. With the remaining family of Madam Orgkana also all but vanishing to mourn in peace, it was easy for the Galra to let the matter go with time. Especially since Sendak grew to have the Emperor’s favor. Sendak also still retained his money that he used to help people forget about the blood staining his hands.

At least until now. Because even as his shaky fingers lower the tablet he’s been reading, Hunk can tell from the way his eyes burn that he’ll never be able to forget this. He may not even have been born when all of this happened, many light years away, but…if no one else is going to remember these people, and what Sendak did to them, he swears to himself that he will.

He sniffles, swallowing hard just to make sure he’s not going to puke, before looking up towards Pidge sitting at the other end of the couch, fiddling with another tablet. Feeling his gaze, she raises her eyes to meet his.

“Sendak, he…” Hunk barely manages to murmur through his choked throat, raising a fist to rub away some tears gathered in the corner of his eye. “He was a monster.”

Pidge swallows, setting the tablet she’s holding down onto the coffee table, before shuffling closer to Hunk on the couch and wrapping her arms around him. She’s as small and bony as she’s always been, but there is still something comforting, something familiar about the way she holds him near, pressing her whole body against him as much as she possibly can.

“Yeah,” she says in a low voice. “I’m sorry. I know that wasn’t easy to read. But we both needed to be aware of this.”

“I know,” Hunk says softly. “At least this proves that Kiti isn’t the only one who would have a motive to kill Sendak. It’s been years, but…there have to be some people who still remember and hated him for this alone. And this is just the one thing that made it to the public knowledge. Who knows what else he’s done that he’s gotten away with behind the scenes?”

“And I’m afraid we’re not done yet,” Pidge says, her voice low. “While you were reading, I did some more digging. And I don’t like what I’m finding.”

Hunk swallows, the mere idea of getting deeper into this making his head spin. He takes in a few deep breaths, trying to gather himself together. He can’t let his baser instincts cause him to lose his way now, not when they’re actually starting to get somewhere. Not when Kiti still needs their help. He can’t let himself lose the momentum.

As if reading his thoughts, Pidge gives him a squeeze. “Let me get you some water, and then we can talk.”

Hunk lets out a sigh of relief at the idea, as Pidge detangles herself from him and begins heading towards the bathroom through the bedroom. He lets himself flop to rest against the back of the couch, closing his eyes for a moment as he concentrates on taking calm, even breaths.

It’s not that he ever expected solving a murder of such a horrible person, or anything related to that, to be easy. Not really. But he thinks he was so caught up in the moment, in the feeling, in the urge to do _something_ , he hadn’t thought about what getting to the bottom of all this would really mean. What kinds of skeletons he’d have to pull out from people’s closets, what kind of secrets he’d have to learn. He’d figured he couldn’t feel less secure, in his trust about the legal system in Daibazaal, but now, finding out for himself what Sendak did and got away with…

Hunk blinks his eyes open, just in time to see Pidge return, and gratefully accepts the glass of water she hands to him. As he lets its soothing coldness wash away the fiery acid in his belly, he also lets it fuel his determination. He can’t change the past, and he probably can’t get justice for Acxa and her family…but he can still help Kiti. And knowing just how bad things could get for him, just how horribly the Daibazaal courts could treat him and mishandle this case…he knows, more than ever, that he needs to. He and Pidge have to get to the bottom of this. There’s no other option now. They need to find out the truth.

As he sets the empty glass down on the coffee table, feeling rejuvenated, Hunk turns to Pidge with determination burning at his core. “Okay. I’m ready. Show me what you’ve got.”

Pidge nods, but the fact she doesn’t respond with a grin immediately has Hunk concerned again; wondering what it is that she found that could be so bad that she’s not excited about discovering it.

Pidge picks up the tablet she was fiddling with before, starting to tap on it. “So, I hacked into the ship’s security cameras,” she says, as if that’s a completely normal thing to do. And perhaps someone else might be shocked by her casual tone, but Hunk’s known her for several years now. Hacking into anything, is not a matter of ‘if’ but a matter of ‘when’ for her. Even for a luxury ship like the Atlas. “Every cabin cluster has one, so I thought that might be our best bet to find out something concrete.”

Hunk nods, licking his lips nervously. “So then…what did you find?”

“That’s the thing,” Pidge huffs. “Nothing. The whole security feed was wiped.”

Hunk sucks in a breath. “What?”

“It was all black from the night before,” Pidge says, a frustrated edge entering her tone. “I’ve tried to retrieve it, but it’s been completely erased. I can’t find anything from between ten last night and this morning.”

“So whoever did that really didn’t want anyone to see the footage,” Hunk muses.

“And also had the means and the opportunity to delete it,” Pidge mumbles, drawing her knees closer to her body, curling in on herself. Her eyes are cast to her side.

And that’s when Hunk understands. “You think it’s Shiro.”

Pidge’s lower lip trembles. “I…” She swallows. “I don’t want to think it. He’s friends with Dad and Matt. But…”

“As the Captain, he would’ve had access to the security footage,” Hunk muses. “And also into the cabin cluster. Plus the fact there’s clearly some sort of connection between him and Kiti…”

“Could he really have done this, though?” Pidge says, sounding almost desperate.

But although it hurts Hunk to say it, he knows he must speak the truth. He and Pidge have never lied to each other, especially to spare each other’s feelings with false promises or claims, and he’s not going to start now. “I don’t know. But we can’t escape the fact he might’ve. And in any case, we need to know what the deal between him and Kiti is about.”

Pidge swallows, licking her lips. “…I know,” she says softly. “What about the other suspects? What about Lali?”

“I’m not sure what I think of her yet,” Hunk muses, cupping his chin with his hand. “She’s right in that even if she found Sendak as despicable as we do, it’s not really enough to kill him on the night she met him. But I also can’t help the feeling she’s hiding something.”

“What about Thax then? He was close by too,” Pidge says. “Or Dayak?”

“With Thax, I think Sendak was more valuable to him dead than alive,” Hunk says. “Dayak…I’m not sure. She may have just pretended to like Sendak to ward off suspicion. And if she lives within the upper class of Daibazaal, she might be more familiar with him and his deeds…”

“So we can’t be sure of anything yet,” Pidge says.

“There’s a lot to do still,” Hunk says with a nod. “But regardless, I think we should start with Shiro. And you can’t let your feelings get in the way of that.”

“You’re one to talk,” Pidge says, but her words come out weary rather than malicious. “But how can we get Shiro alone to talk to him? Let alone get him to say anything relevant? You know how private he is, and we’ve already had our chance at dinner with him.”

“Well,” Hunk starts, leaning forward. “If we’re right, and I’d bet we are, Shiro’s possible motive for killing Sendak could also work as an incentive to get him to talk to us about this. If we can convince him we just want to help Kiti…”

“He might be willing to talk.” Pidge nods.

“All we need is to get in contact with him,” Hunk says, waggling his eyebrows. “And I know a certain someone for whom finding a number to call the Captain of the Atlas would be no trouble at all.”

Pidge looks him in the eyes, and Hunk smiles. There it is. That familiar gleam in her eye, ready to grab onto a challenge and fight it with everything she has. The drive inside of her to figure things out, to discover the mysteries of the world.

“I’m on it,” she says, snapping her gaze down onto the tablet in her lap, starting to tap with fervor. Not long passes, before she looks up again and gives Hunk a victorious smirk. “Found it.”

Hunk shifts closer to her on the couch, watching over her shoulder as she taps into the phone call portion of the tablet and taps in the number. As it begins ringing, Hunk can feel his heart thump, all the way up in his throat.

Soon enough, there is a click, and Shiro’s voice rings through with, _“Hello?”_

“Hey, Shiro, it’s Pidge and Hunk,” Pidge says. “We need to talk to you about Sendak, and what happened to him.”

_“What?”_ Shiro fumbles. _“Why? And how did you get this number?”_

“Not important, I have my ways,” Pidge says.

“Shiro, we need your help, okay,” Hunk cuts in. “I think you know that Kiti will be blamed for Sendak’s death. We don’t want to see that happen, and I don’t think you do, either. And if you’re willing to talk to us, maybe we can help him.”

For a moment, there is no answer. All they can hear is Shiro’s uneven, nervous-sounding breathing.

_“…Come to my cabin for lunch,”_ is what finally breaks the silence. _“I’ll send you the instructions on how to get here to this number. We can talk then.”_

“We’ll be there,” Hunk says.

…

During the few hours between their call to Shiro and lunchtime, Hunk and Pidge take their time going over the case one more time, trying to create a timeline with what they have and find the blanks they think Shiro can fill best. However, not long into their work, they both find themselves yawning and feeling fuzzy with weariness, their sleep having been cut so cruelly short in the morning, and resign themselves to taking a nap. They can’t be at their best if they’re tired, after all, and they’ll need all the sharpness of mind they can get when they talk to Shiro.

By the time they wake up, they have just enough time to freshen up and change their clothes before they need to head towards Shiro’s private quarters on the Atlas. Despite knowing what they’re doing is going to be serious business, Hunk also can’t help the way his stomach begins to growl as he and Pidge follow the map Shiro sent them. Having only eaten a little at both dinner and breakfast is now making his hunger return with vengeance, and he can’t help but hope Shiro will actually be supplying them with something to eat rather than just conversation. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to stay very clear-headed if he doesn’t get some food in his system.

“This should be it,” Pidge says as they stop by a large door in a rather isolated part of the ship.

“I think it is,” Hunk says, his mouth beginning to water. “I can smell food.”

He quickly moves to knock on the door, and soon enough, it slides open to reveal Shiro, as well as letting out the smell of food out even stronger than before.

The Captain gives them a tight, forcibly polite smile, similar to the way he was at last night’s dinner. “Come in.”

He steps aside to let Hunk and Pidge enter, before starting to lead them through his rooms; ones equal in grandness to those of the best cabins on the ship. Still, that’s exactly what really draws Hunk’s attention. These could be just any other quarters on the Atlas, even though they’re meant to be Shiro’s home. But the rooms are completely bare of any personal touches, decorated with matching color schemes and furniture as they are. There are no photographs anywhere, no paintings that Shiro might’ve chosen just because he liked them, even if they clashed with the décor; no clothes lying around and no additional knick-knacks to add any personal touches to the rooms.

As they walk through the cabin, the smell of food only gets stronger, and soon enough, they find themselves in the dining room. The beautiful table is set neatly for three with several pots and pans steaming hot in the middle with freshly cooked food, just waiting to be eaten. It is only through reminding himself of the situation that Hunk manages not to dash straight to his seat, and devour everything he can get his hands on.

As it is, at Shiro’s non-verbal suggestion through the movement of his hand, Hunk and Pidge take their seats on one side of the table calmly, while Shiro sits opposite to them. Tension is thick in the air and none of them dare to speak, but this time Hunk is hungry enough to ignore that and just begin eating; another flick of Shiro’s wrist is the only urging he needs. He takes a little bit of everything from each pot and pan and begins to eat, Pidge and Shiro soon following suit.

With some food still on his plate, in case he needs something for his hands to do in order to break any awkwardness, but not so consumed by his hunger that he can’t think straight, Hunk looks across the table towards Shiro.

“We already told you why we wanted to come here,” he says, causing Shiro to look up at him. “So are you willing to talk to us?”

Shiro sighs deep, closing his eyes and setting down his fork. “Yes,” he says. “I know something of this caliber isn’t what Rolo is used to. I hired him never thinking there would be a time that we’d have to deal with murder on my ship.”

“That’s understandable,” Hunk says. “But like I said before, I think you understand what kind of position all of this puts Kiti in. Even if the fact that he was asleep can be proven…”

“Not everyone is willing to accept that as enough to prove he’s innocent. And he is the most obvious suspect,” Shiro fills his words in, sounding weary. “I know. And if it helps Kiti, I want to do all I can to assist you.”

Hunk gives Shiro a smile, hoping it might encourage him. “That’s good to know,” he says. “And that’s actually a good place for us to start, I think. How exactly do you and Kiti know each other? He mentioned he and Sendak travel a lot on the Atlas. Is that how?”

Shiro’s throat bobs with a swallow, and he licks his lips in thought, before closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. “No,” he says as he opens his eyes again. “I’ve known Kiti for much longer than that. Before he was engaged to Sendak, when I was little more than a small line pilot…”

“I first met Kiti about ten years ago,” Shiro begins. “At the time, I was still working my way up, flying small vessels for passengers wanting to get from the neighboring planet to the next, or to a swap moon; that sort of thing. I was mostly working around the planets near Daibazaal, and after I docked a ship there, I found myself with some time off. I went to wander around one of the bigger cities – not the capital, but major enough – and happened to come across some adverts for a dance recital taking place later the same day, not too far from where I was staying at the time. I thought I’d check it out while I was there. I had nothing better to do for the night and getting to experience the local cultures was one of the reasons I became a pilot.”

A soft, sad, nostalgic smile overtakes his lips. “Kiti was the star of the show. He was…magnetic on stage. He just drew you in, sucking you into his orbit with his dancing, with the emotions he displayed as he performed…I can’t really explain it words. All I know is I couldn’t take my eyes off him the entire time he was on stage. He took my breath away, and as soon as he was out of my sight, I knew I had to find him, to talk to him. The theater was small, and not very well guarded, because it was almost expected the dancers should engage with the audience afterwards, to fish for sponsorships. So it wasn’t terribly hard for me to go backstage and find Kiti after the show.”

“What I couldn’t have anticipated was how well we got on,” Shiro continues, still smiling that soft, sad smile. “We became quick friends. He showed me around while I was staying on Daibazaal, and every night I’d go back to the theater to see him dance again. Even when I had to leave, we kept in touch, and every time my work would take me to Daibazaal, or whenever I had time off, I’d return to spend it with him.”

Hunk hums, licking his lips. “Did this remain a mere friendship?”

Shiro lowers his eyes, fiddling with his fork in his flesh hand. “No,” he says quietly. “To tell you the truth, it was…it was love at first sight, for me.” Hunk hums. He had anticipated as much, based on the way Shiro described it. “But at the time, Kiti was only starting out his career as a dancer, and was dependent on any and all sponsors he could get, to stay afloat financially. Because of that, he couldn’t get involved with anyone who wasn’t paying him. I knew that from the start and I respected that. I was happy just to be his friend, to spend time with him…”

A wistful smile overtakes his lips again. “But Kiti was…is, a once a lifetime kind of talent. He quickly began to climb the ranks of stardom and dance, gaining more recognition and opportunities. Within two years of our meeting, he was completely financially independent from anyone but himself. He was free to do as he wished, and the next time we saw each other, he told me what he wanted was me. And that’s when our relationship moved to the next level.”

Shiro takes a soft sip of his water, his eyes down on the table. “We were together for three years. In the meantime, we both kept rising up the ranks in our respective fields. When I received my awards for flying, he was there to witness it. When he was invited to dance for the biggest company on Daibazaal, I was the first one he told…We started to talk about our future together. Kiti didn’t think he should have to content himself with just dancing on Daibazaal, and I agreed. Everyone in the universe should get to witness his talent and grace. When I got my commission on the Atlas, everything felt like it was falling to place. We planned that when the time felt right, we’d move to live on the Atlas, where Kiti could dance for the crowd in the evenings, and then when we’d dock on to different planets, I could drop him off to his different performances there. We even talked about starting a family…”

Hunk sucks in a breath, quickly doing the math in his head. “This must’ve been five years ago or so, right? Isn’t that when…?”

“It was just before my kidnapping happened, yes,” Shiro says, his voice suddenly a low hiss of bitterness, his face tensing up with the memory. “It…it was a turning point. Everything changed. The authorities still have no leads on who took me and tortured me. Or why they let me go when they did, instead of killing me…”

He swallows. “There was no way of keeping track of time while I was being held captive. They didn’t even bring me food or water at consistent times. There was no light. There was only pain…many times, I was sure I was going to die. A few times…I thought it might be preferable.”

Hunk takes his own turn to swallow. The news published on the matter hadn’t been very open about Shiro’s experiences, at least not beyond gossipy speculations. This is the closest he’s ever come to hearing about it, and it sickens him. He reaches to take a sip of his glass of water, trying to remain calm, even with his heart beating in his throat.

“What kept me going was thinking about Kiti,” Shiro continues. “About how I needed to get back to him, about how I wanted to at least see him one last time… How worried he must be and how I knew in my heart he must be looking for me, staying true to me…”

He lets out a sad huff of air, puffing through his bangs. “But when I finally saw light again, waking up in my hospital bed after my sudden release…Kiti wasn’t there. I kept asking about him, but no one had seen him around. He didn’t come to see me for days, even though it was all over every news channel that I’d been found alive. I’d even told the hospital staff to expect him to call and ask about me…”

Shiro licks his lips. “He finally came to see me, about a week after I’d woken up. And even then…it was only to say goodbye.”

“What?” Hunk breathes.

Shiro nods bitterly, clenching his teeth together. “He claimed things had changed while I was gone, that he’d thought I was dead and had given up on me. That he’d…he’d moved on.”

“Claimed?” Hunk asks, narrowing his eyes. “So you don’t believe that’s what actually happened?”

“It wasn’t even a week after he came to see me that Kiti and Sendak announced their engagement. And with it, Kiti’s intention to retire from dance,” Shiro practically growls. “The Kiti I knew would never have acted like that. Dance was everything to him, and even if he had wanted to move on from me, I know he would’ve at least been kind about it. He wouldn’t have given up on me, on us, so easily. We were so happy…” His voice breaks off.

“Do you think Sendak had something to do with how he behaved, then?” Pidge asks, finally speaking up, and making Hunk jump a little in surprise.

“I’m almost sure of it,” Shiro says, his flesh hand forming a tight fist around the handle of his fork in fury. “I’m just not sure how. Perhaps he manipulated Kiti, perhaps he blackmailed him…”

“It must’ve hurt then,” Pidge continues, a strangely blank expression on her face. “To see them together, and on your ship no less.”

“I despised that man,” Shiro hisses. “If Kiti had been happy, maybe I could’ve accepted him being with someone else. Even with so little time having passed between him ending our relationship and starting a new one. But you saw how Sendak treated him; like he was garbage or a toy to play around with as he pleased. And every time they’d come onto this ship, I’d see Kiti looking thinner and paler and quieter. Moving further and further away from that boy who had once danced like his life depended on it…”

“So you admit that you had ample motive to kill him,” Pidge says, her words coming out almost like a sigh.

Shiro looks up, his eyes wild, before he closes them with a deep sigh. He sucks in a deep breath, before he opens them again, looking a little more settled.

“I’m not denying I wanted him dead,” Shiro says. “There would be no point in trying to pretend otherwise.”

“Shiro,” Pidge says, leaning her chin on her crossed hands held up by her elbows. “I tried to find security footage from last night from our cabin cluster. And believe me, if it was there, I would’ve found it. But I found nothing.”

Shiro blinks. “What?”

“You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Pidge presses on.

“No,” Shiro says, shaking his head, looking a little pale under the overhead lights. “And I’m not really an expert on such things either. Perhaps someone tampered with the tape?”

“Perhaps,” Pidge muses. “But you did come inside the cabin cluster last night, didn’t you?”

Shiro’s mouth falls open, his eyes wide. “How did you know that?”

“I didn’t,” Pidge says, closing her eyes. “But I had a hunch. And you just confirmed it for me.”

Shiro averts his eyes, his cheeks flushing with shame, sucking in his lower lip in embarrassment.

“It’s not what you think,” Shiro says after a moment of silence. “I just wanted to check if Kiti was alright…after what happened at dinner. I hoped I might keep things from escalating, but I didn’t even go inside their cabin…I just stayed in the corridor and listened out for any noise for a while. I thought that maybe if I heard ruckus I’d intervene…but I heard nothing, in the end, so I left.”

“What time was this?” Hunk cuts in. “Do you know?”

“I left to return here around midnight,” Shiro says. “I know, because I checked the time and thought it was about time I retired to bed for the night.”

“Can anyone prove that?” Pidge asks.

“I’m afraid not,” Shiro says. “No staff was around and the passengers were all locked in.”

Hunk leans forward, narrowing his eyes at Shiro. “You know this doesn’t look good for you, right?”

Shiro lets out a sigh, lowering his head. “I do know. And I don’t really wanna go down for murder, but…at least if I take the blame, Kiti will be spared. That’s a silver lining, I suppose. At least I could protect him from this one thing.”

Hunk blinks. “You still love him that much?”

“More,” Shiro breathes, soft but sincere.

“How about the door to the cabin cluster?” Pidge cuts in. “Did you lock it when you left?”

Shiro swallows. “I’m fairly sure I did. Though I guess I can’t be completely certain.”

“And it can be opened from the inside, to let someone else in during the night, isn’t that right?”

“Yes,” Shiro says.

Pidge nods. “One more thing,” she says. “Did the ship dock anywhere last night?”

“Yes, at the intergalactic station in the Dalterion Belt, as always for the first night, in order for the transfer passengers to be able to catch their connection flights,” Shiro says.

Hunk takes another sip of his water, a part of him hoping he had something stronger at hand, but knowing he can’t risk getting drunk and confused right now. “Thank you, Shiro. You’ve been a big help.”

“I hope so,” Shiro says, taking his fork in hand in the proper way again, and using it to put some food in his mouth. “I couldn’t bear it if Kiti went down for this. He’s been through enough.”

Hunk swallows, unable to help the thought that the same could be said for Shiro himself. He hasn’t admitted to anything; to either being guilty or innocent, but…for his sake, Hunk hopes he didn’t do this either. Neither Kiti nor Shiro deserve to be locked up to rot because of a man like Sendak.

He mustn’t be allowed to get the last laugh. Not on this.

…

After some dessert, Shiro heads back to his duties as Captain, and Hunk and Pidge begin making their way back to their cabin, their bellies full but heads swimming.

“What Shiro said reminded me of something I hadn’t thought of before,” Pidge says as they walk together. “I think Allura has mentioned a dancer she was friends with and a fan of in the past.”

“Yeah, I remember too,” Hunk says with a thoughtful nod. “I just didn’t realize it was Kiti.”

“Me neither. I don’t think she ever mentioned him by name, or we would’ve made the connection sooner,” Pidge says. “And it’s not like we’re super familiar with dancers from Daibazaal, especially if he’s been retired for five years. But we can look into it.”

As soon as they get back to their cabin, both of them take out tablets to begin looking for more information about Kiti’s dancing career. But as much as Hunk scrolls down, nothing comes up. There are no records of a dancer named Kiti from within the past decade at least.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Pidge says. “If he was that famous, he should be easy to find.”

Hunk purses his lips in thought. “…Allura didn’t mention him by name,” he spells out. “Perhaps because she didn’t accidentally want to mix his names up.”

Pidge looks up. “You think Kiti was working under a stage name?”

“We should look into it,” Hunk says, beginning to just search for famous Galra dancers from within the past decade.

The third picture that pops up catches his attention immediately, and he taps on it to enlarge it. “I think I found him. Look.”

He turns the tablet around to show Pidge the image of a young man in a graceful pose with his leg up and his arms in a beautiful arch, and it can’t be anyone except Kiti when he was younger. Even with his hair being pure white rather than the midnight black Hunk is used to seeing him with, and with how different he just _seems_ , the likeness is unmistakable. There is power in his limbs, in how effortless he makes the pose look, and his eyes shine; almost burn in the overhead lights.

He looks happier than Hunk has ever seen him, so full of life, and filled to the brim with the burning passion and joy of youth.

“According to this, his stage name was Yorak,” Pidge muses.

Hunk nods. “The name and the hair must be why it was easy for him to disappear from the public eye after he retired, too.”

He turns the tablet back around for himself and searches for Yorak the dancer specifically. This time, his attempts are met with multiple links to articles, more pictures; several info pages both official and fan-made and at least one page that looks like a fan discussion platform. Hunk quickly begins going over the material, reading over the latest articles. Most of them are gossip pieces about possible sightings of Yorak in his new life. There’s also a lot of speculation about his reasons for retirement, so evidently the actual reason isn’t publicly known.

“I just thought of something,” Pidge says, cutting into Hunk’s line of thought and making him look up. “Lali mentioned that a famous dancer would be performing at the wedding. Kiti is a famous dancer, and he’s Allura’s friend.”

“That’s probably what she was talking about,” Hunk says with a nod. “Do you think that’s the surprise Lance was talking about too?”

“It might be,” Pidge says. “We could text him and ask?”

Hunk nods. “And while we wait for him to reply from all his wedding business, I think we should go talk to Dayak.”

Pidge blinks. “That’s not going to be easy,” she says. “Dayak doesn’t exactly strike me as a person willing to make small talk. And she _wants_ Kiti behind bars. Or worse, so us trying to help him won’t make her more inclined to spill.”

“And that’s the exact angle we’ll have to play with her,” Hunk says. “In any case, I’m more interested in what she has to say about Acxa’s kidnapping and Kiti’s dancing career, since she was actually on Daibazaal to experience both. Though I’m sure her viewpoint will be colored.”

Pidge snorts. “Yeah, no kidding.”

“But our interest in Daibazaal might work in our favor in her case,” Hunk muses. “She seems like a very traditional Alpha; and most traditional Galran Alphas take great pride in their home planet and its culture. She might be willing to discuss them with us if we appeal to that sense of pride.” He licks his lips. “But you probably should let me do most of the talking. This requires some sensitivity.”

…

When the room to Dayak’s cabin slides open, the look on her face becomes pinched and sour, as if she smelled something bad when she sees who is behind the door.

“What is it that you require?”

“Good day, Madam,” Hunk says, doing his best to remain polite, even going so far as to give a little bow of a nod. “We’re sorry to bother you like this, but…the truth is, we require a little bit of your time. Your assistance, you might say.”

Dayak raises one thin eyebrow. “My assistance?”

“Yes, Madam.” Hunk nods. He licks his lips, before continuing, “The truth is we…we’ve been looking into Lord Sendak’s death a little bit on our own, you see. But there are some details that are missing; we can only discover so much through research. And we think it is imperative we speak to someone who actually knew him a little. Someone who knew his past and where he came from, as well as that of his betrothed. Someone who has lived and experienced Daibazaal as certain events took place.”

Hunk avoids swallowing, looking at Dayak pleadingly from below his brows; a trick he’s learned tends to work to his benefit, most of the time. He just hopes it can also rouse the desired effect in this elderly Galra.

Dayak purses her lips. “We all know what happened, though,” she says. “That little harlot killed him.”

“That might be so,” Hunk says. “But getting a conviction might require a little more, don’t you think? Wouldn’t it be best to be sure?”

“In that case, shouldn’t all these questions be the responsibility of the master at arms?” Dayak asks.

“It should,” Hunk concedes. “But do you honestly trust him to carry out justice? To be able to make his case for who killed Lord Sendak?”

Dayak’s mouth makes a soft, wet sound as she clicks her tongue. “…I suppose you’re correct,” she says. “After all, the courts on Daibazaal aren’t what they used to be in my youth, I’ll tell you that. In my day, Omegas like that little bitch were stoned to death in the streets. No getting away with murdering their Alphas, no sir. But now everyone wants a proper trial and whatnot.”

Hunk swallows, trying not to show his emotions. “May we come in then, Madam?”

“Yes, I suppose, alright then” she says, stepping aside to let Hunk and Pidge in. As soon as they enter, she takes a seat in one of the armchairs in the living room, so Hunk and Pidge move to take the couch.

“So,” Dayak says, setting her cane to rest beside the chair. “What do you wish to know?”

“We could start from the beginning, I suppose,” Hunk says, seeing from the corner of his eye that Pidge has begun to fiddle with her tablet, likely to either take notes or record the conversation. “Was this journey the first time you made acquaintance with Lord Sendak?”

“In person, yes,” Dayak says with a nod. “But as I mentioned at dinner last night, I’ve worked with the Imperial Royal Family for many years, so I have seen him in court quite often. I am sure he has seen me in return, but in such circumstances, it would’ve been improper for me to address him.”

Hunk swallows, keeping his thoughts about not believing Sendak would’ve paid Dayak much attention if he considered her below him; a mere servant in court not of any use to him. He didn’t seem the type of man to really look at the people working around him, unless they were doing something to displease him.

“What is it you do in your line of work, exactly?” Hunk asks.

“I worked as the governess for Prince Lotor himself for many years,” Dayak says with a small proud smile gracing her lips. “Now that he is grown, however, I work as his chief advisor.”

“And what brought you to the Atlas for this journey?”

“A simple holiday,” Dayak says. “Since the Royal Family will be at the wedding on Altea, I found it suitable to take some time off for myself for this period as well.”

Hunk nods. “And is this your first time on the Atlas?”

“Yes,” Dayak says. “I naturally travel a lot in my line of work, but we tend to utilize our own private ships for such occasions. However, I was glad of the opportunity to finally make Lord Sendak’s acquaintance properly here, if nothing else.”

“You held him in rather high regard,” Hunk muses.

“Of course,” Dayak says curtly. “He was a fine warrior, the top of his class at the Military Academy, and from an old family of wealth and good fortune to boot.” She shakes her head. “How horrid, that he’s now gone. All that potential, wasted, thrown away.”

Hunk licks his lips, trying to think of the best way to form his next question. “Yet there must’ve been people who didn’t share in your regard towards him,” he says, making sure to keep his voice soft, almost sympathetic. “He must’ve had some enemies.”

“Well, naturally,” Dayak says, waving a hand. “He was the envy of the planet; intelligent, wealthy, attractive and in the Emperor’s favor. An Alpha like that is sure to gain his share of disagreeable individuals. If not so, my regard for him wouldn’t be nearly so high.”

“There must’ve been rumors, to go with those enemies,” Hunk continues, leading her forward. “For example, about the source of his wealth.”

“Jealous ravings of those who had less, nothing more,” Dayak says. “Lord Sendak was merely a shrewd businessman, ready to take whatever he needed at whatever cost.”

Hunk can’t help but narrow his eyes at that. “Including little Acxa Orgkana?”

Dayak makes a disbelieving ‘psh’ sound with her lips. “That’s what you want to know about?” she says, ending on an almost amused note. “Lord Sendak was acquitted in court. He had nothing to do with that particular incident.”

Hunk raises his eyebrows. “That doesn’t seem to be the general opinion.”

“I only believe in facts, not opinions,” Dayak says, a little snappish. “If they weren’t able to convict Lord Sendak, he committed no sin of such kind.”

“Then what do you think happened?”

“Someone either simply wanted money, or had a grudge towards the Orgkanas. Perhaps both. And Lord Sendak was simply an easy target to point fingers at,” Dayak says. “There was, after all, a bit of a connection between him and that family.”

Hunk blinks. “Really?”

Dayak nods. “As grand a man as he was, Lord Sendak did have his faults, his little bad habits,” she says, shaking her head. “Evidently, he had a bit of a weakness for dancers. First Madam Orgkana and now his new little harlot.”

“Madam Orgakana was a dancer too?”

“A spoiled little brat, is what she was,” Dayak hisses. “Thought too highly of herself, just like Sendak’s new little hussy now. I understand her mother passed away when Miss Orgkana’s brother was born, so the father ended up being more lenient with the children than he should’ve been. Letting his daughter dance of all things, despite her position.”

She shakes her head. “In any case, Lord Sendak had a bit of an infatuation with Miss Orgkana, or so I’ve grown to understand. He even attempted to court her, but she didn’t heed him, the stuck-up little bitch,” she spits. “Chose an alien instead of a well-respected member of the Galra society. Gods, her poor mother must’ve been rolling in her grave.”

Hunk swallows. Apparently, once you got Dayak talking, it was actually much harder to shut her up. Perhaps she had just been looking for an opportunity to be able to gossip a little, but couldn’t participate in such things in her daily life, needing to keep up the façade of respectability. With people she possibly considered below herself, she could allow herself to let go a little.

“Then, you know Kiti was also known as the dancer Yorak?” Pidge speaks up, apparently taking a chance. “It doesn’t seem like it’s a very well-known fact.”

Dayak waves her off. “Everyone who is anyone knew as soon as Lord Sendak presented him at the court,” she says. “He was quite popular with the higher classes; not that it made the union any more proper. A public dancer and a lord? Gods, what a spell that little slut must’ve had him under.”

Hunk narrows his eyes. “So you believe Kiti seduced Lord Sendak?”

“Well, of course,” Dayak says. “He’d be set for life if he married into society. But evidently, he couldn’t handle what exactly that meant as well as he thought he could, and decided to get rid of Lord Sendak instead. I always said his weakness for those flighty performers would be his doom, mark my words.”

“So you’re certain Kiti did this?” Hunk says.

“No doubt in my mind. No reason to.”

“What would suggest that, to you, if I may ask?”

“Well,” Dayak says, sitting up a bit straighter. “I couldn’t sleep very well last night, and I have a very sharp hearing. I think I ought to have heard if there was someone sneaking into Lord Sendak’s cabin at night, or if there was a struggle. I heard nothing. That’s why, I’m sure only that little harlot had the chance to kill him.”

Before Hunk can think of a response, he feels Pidge’s hand on his leg. As he turns to look, he sees her giving him meaningful glances towards her phone.

“Thank you for your time, Madam,” he says quickly, standing up. “I think we got all the answers we wanted.”

Dayak nods at them politely as she, too, gets to her feet. “I am happy to help. I just hope Lord Sendak can get the justice he deserves.”

Hunk nods tightly at her, before letting Pidge practically pull him out and back across the corridor to their cabin. As soon as they’re there, she as good as thrusts her phone at him, allowing Hunk to see there is one text message waiting.

**_Lance:_ ** _ya, but how did u kno tat?_

Hunk smiles. “So now we know.”

Pidge nods, smirking at him. “What do you wanna do?”

“Let’s join Kiti and Lali again for breakfast tomorrow,” Hunk says. “We can talk to them then.”

Pidge raises an eyebrow. “Why not for dinner today?”

“We shouldn’t overwhelm them, or ourselves,” Hunk says. “We need at least a little bit of proper rest, and we should go over everything before we talk to them. We’ll wanna be sure when we do.”

Pidge nods. “Good point,” she says. “Wanna order a buffet dinner in?”

Hunk grins. “Now you’re talking.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're closing in on the ending guys ;).

The next morning, after finally getting a good night’s rest and a few proper meals in their systems, Hunk and Pidge wake up feeling refreshed, and ready to face new challenges. Ready to get to the bottom of this murder once and for all. While they get dressed into some comfortable but neat day clothes, they do one final talking-through of their notes so far, steadying their minds and readying their questions.

They head across the corridor, over to the door of Lali’s cabin, and Hunk knocks on its surface. Lali is the one who comes open the door, still dressed in a morning robe, her pink hair pulled into a simple bun.

“Oh,” she says, seeing them, her mouth forming a thin, even line. “Hello again.”

“Hi,” Hunk says with a smile, determined to ignore her pensiveness. “We’d like to talk to Kiti again. Is he still here?”

Lali’s eyebrows pinch into a proper frown over her eyes. “Is that really necessary? The poor dear has been through such an ordeal. The master at arms came about again after you’d gone the previous quintant, too. It really rattled Kiti. He barely slept last night.”

Hunk licks his lips, taking in a steadying breath. “I can understand this is difficult,” he says, keeping his tone gentle and calm. “But you know we have Kiti’s best interests at heart. We’re not like the master at arms. We don’t want anything to get worse for him. You know it very well could, with the way things are going.”

Lali’s throat bobs with a swallow, and she bites her lower lip for a moment, before releasing a sigh. “…Fine. Come on in. We were just about to order breakfast in, so you might as well stay to eat.”

Hunk smiles, having hoped that this might happen. “Thank you.”

Lali steps aside to let them in, allowing Hunk and Pidge to walk into her sitting room, where they find Kiti lounging on the couch. He’s also dressed in a robe, his hair loosely braided. His bruised cheek still looks awful, but Hunk would estimate it’s slightly less swollen than before, likely due to the medicine that he’s been given.

“Hey, Kiti,” Hunk says, giving him a small wave as Kiti turns to look up at him with blank eyes. “Sorry to bother you again. How are you doing?”

Kiti gives a small shrug with one shoulder, silently lowering his gaze.

“I’ll just call in for some breakfast,” Allura says, walking over to one of the small drawers in the room and picking up the utility tablet sitting there, connected to the Atlas network.

As she starts to tap the screen, Hunk uses the opportunity to take a seat in one of the armchairs. Pidge follows suit with the armchair opposite to him.

“We came because we have some additional information about Sendak’s death we think you should be aware of,” Hunk says, leaning forward in his seat. At Kiti’s noncommittal hum, he continues, “We now have reason to believe that Shiro – Captain Shirogane – might be the murder.”

That gets a reaction. Kiti’s head swirls around to look at him, his eyes wide and his face turning an ashier violet, as he takes in a sharp breath.

“No…” he says, his voice weak as his shoulders begin to shake. “Shiro, no…Shiro, Shiro couldn’t have…he wouldn’t…Shiro…”

“He had the means and the motive,” Hunk presses on. “And he’s a man in a secure, high position. Not everyone would suspect him, let alone try and punish him for a crime. Especially, not someone he hired himself.”

“No,” Kiti murmurs, shaking his head, as if he hadn’t even heard him. “If Shiro did this…”

A sudden clunking noise causes Hunk to jump, his heart leaping up with him, and he turns to meet Lali’s stern expression over his shoulder. The way her hands are positioned suggests she just dropped the tablet she was holding on the dresser. Still keeping her sharp eyes on Hunk, she rounds the couch to sit beside Kiti, wrapping him up in her arms as he keeps shaking.

“Was telling him this truly necessary?” Lali snaps, still glaring in Hunk’s direction. “You’ve just upset him more now.”

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure if he’d care,” Hunk says. “After all, based on what Shiro said, the two of them haven’t exactly been friendly for a few years.”

“That doesn’t mean I wanted Shiro to do something like this, for me!” Kiti cries, his eyes beginning to well up with angry tears as they look up at Hunk, his lower lip tight and trembling. “The last thing I want is for him to get in trouble, out of stupid some sense of loyalty to me!”

“Then you do still care for him?” Hunk asks, carefully raising his brows. “Even though you were about to marry someone else?”

Kiti’s mouth clicks shut, before he swallows hard, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. He takes in a deep breath, evidently trying to calm himself, before he opens his mouth again, “Things between Shiro and I are…complicated. But I don’t want him to be hurt. I don’t want him to ruin his life for me. Not when there’s no way I could ever pay him back for that.”

He shakes his head, his face tensing in bitterness, in something akin to rage, as more tears spill out, shining on his cheeks. “Shiro only sees what he wants to see. I can’t be who I was, not anymore,” he spits. “I am nothing, now.”

“Kiti, no,” Lali says softly, tightening her hold around him and rubbing his back. “That’s not true. You still have me. I’ll help you get past this. All of this. And you can still return to dancing…”

Hunk hums, and lets his lips twist into a smirk. “Thank you for that, Lali,” he says. “Or should I say Allura?”

The Altean woman’s head snaps up, her eyes widening as her arms around Kiti loosen by reflex. “What?”

“You know, something was bugging me,” Hunk says with a smile. “In all my research, I didn’t see a single news article about the ‘intergalactically famous dancer, Yorak’ returning to the stage for his friend’s wedding. Shouldn’t that have been the news on everyone’s lips since he hasn’t appeared in public for years now?”

He grins. “And then I realized something else. Lance had said there was going to be some big surprise for everyone at the wedding. And last night, he confirmed that it was going to be Kiti’s performance. So how would a random Altean woman who isn’t even a part of the wedding know about that?”

“The only way for you to know that,” Pidge continues for him, “is if you also belong to the wedding party, unlike what you claimed, Lali.”

“And you’ve also been acting strangely familiar with Kiti all this time, only further raising our suspicions,” Hunk says, softening his smile a little in Lali’s – Allura’s – direction. “So why don’t you drop the pretense already, Allura? We’re all friends here, aren’t we?”

She bites her lip, averting her eyes, her expression hard as she settles to sit straight with her fists on her lap. But slowly, right before his eyes, Hunk can see her form beginning to shift. The pink of her hair fades into snow white, the shape of her nose changes, the color of her eyes melts into azure, her body grows slightly taller and becomes more willowy and slender in shape. And soon enough, he’s looking at his royal friend, Princess Allura of Altea.

Pidge leans forward in her seat, narrowing her eyes. “Why are you here, Allura?”

Allura purses her lips, softly clicking her tongue. “I came, because I was concerned for my friend.”

“About Kiti?” Hunk asks. “Was there a particular reason?”

“You saw what Sendak was like,” Allura spits, her eyes fiery. “Isn’t that a good enough reason?”

“But why now, specifically?” Pidge presses on. “So close to your wedding? And would staying close to Kiti for one journey make much difference?”

Allura swallows, lowering her eyes. She bites her lip again, her expression hard, her hands fisting tight in the fabric of her robe.

“It’s okay, Lura,” Kiti says softly, drawing everyone’s eyes to him as he places a comforting hand on top of hers. “Please, tell them the truth. I don’t want you to get in trouble for me.”

“Are you sure?” Allura asks, her voice soft and filled with concern. “It…it might…”

“I’m sure.” Kiti nods. “They’re your friends. We should trust them; no matter what it might look like for me. If they think I did this afterwards, then…I’d be willing to go down for it. I’d feel like I was judged properly.”

Allura swallows, licking her lips. She takes in a deep breath, before turning to address Hunk and Pidge. “Some time ago, Kiti contacted me for the first time in a long while. He wrote me a letter, saying he was scared,” she says, her voice forcibly even. “I, in turn, became afraid for him. I couldn’t get the letter out of my head. I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t eating…I certainly wasn’t thinking about the wedding, and Lance could tell.”

Hunk blinks. “He mentioned something along those lines some weeks ago,” he muses. “He was worried about you.”

Allura nods. “In the end, he confronted me and I had to tell him what was going on,” she says. “We both realized this wouldn’t leave me alone until I saw my friend again. And I had to assume, based on the contents of the letter, that by the time he arrived for the wedding, it might already be too late. So after some discussion with Lance, we agreed that I should board the Atlas to accompany Kiti in disguise, to do whatever I could to help keep him at least a little safer.”

“I see…” Hunk hums, before turning to Kiti’s direction. “I’m assuming you knew who she was?”

“I realized at dinner, that first night,” Kiti says softly. “She hadn’t told me anything beforehand, but you’re right in what you suspected. Only she and a select few others would’ve known that I’d promised to perform at her wedding. And none of the others would have a reason to be here.”

“I was trying to tell him who I was by letting that slip,” Allura admits. “To let him know I was close by.”

Hunk nods.

“You said he sent you a letter,” Pidge says. “Could we see it?”

Allura swallows, turning her eyes on Kiti.

He shrugs “It’s fine, like I said.”

Her eyes dart around the room for a bit, seemingly hesitating a moment longer, before she gets up and heads towards her bedroom. She returns soon after, carrying a piece of paper folded twice in her fingers.

Pidge raises an eyebrow. “A paper letter? Isn’t that kind of old-fashioned?”

“I’m pretty sure Sendak had my phone, and other messaging devices monitored,” Kiti says evenly, his eyes hard. “This was the easiest way to not get caught.”

Pidge clicks her mouth shut, as Hunk takes the letter from Allura, and starts to read aloud for his partner’s benefit.

_ Dear Allura, _

_ I am sorry it has been so long since I’ve last been in contact. I hate having to bother you so close to what is meant to be the happiest day of your life, but I don’t know who else I can turn to. Please forgive me for the distress I know this letter will cause you. _

_ There has been a change in Sendak these past movements. I can’t explain it in words, but I know he is planning something sinister. I find him looking at me with eyes that frighten me. For the first time in five deca-phoebes, I am truly scared of what he might do. _

_ I don’t know what is going to happen to me. But I hope you know that if I can’t make it to your wedding, I am sorry to miss it and for breaking my promise to dance for you there. I’m sure you would’ve been a beautiful bride. _

_ Please live on with your husband. Prosper and be happy, for my sake as well as your own. Don’t look back and don’t grieve for me. There’s not much left for you to grieve anyway. _

_ I’m so lucky and glad that I got to call you my friend. _

_ With my affection, as always, _

_ Your loyal companion, Kiti alias Yorak _

Once he’s finished, Hunk lets out a breath, and refolds the letter. He looks up towards Kiti with serious eyes. “What was it that you were so afraid of?”

“Like I said in the letter, I don’t even know myself,” Kiti huffs, the air shifting his bangs. “I just knew something bad was about to happen.”

Hunk swallows, licking his lips. “Do you think…he would have killed you?”

“Sendak was perfectly capable of killing, and I’m sure he had in the past,” Kiti says bitterly. “But I think…he had put too much time and effort into me to get rid of me that easily. It’s more likely that he was finally planning to make it official and marry me. Lock me down for good.”

“…The way you say that sounds like you know,” Pidge says. “About the Orgakana kidnapping.”

Kiti raises his eyes, looking up from below his brows, before averting his eyes to his side. “…Yes,” he says softly. “I mean, I’ve only heard about it. I don’t think I was even born when it all took place, but…”

“But you know.” Hunk nods. “How did you learn of it?”

Kiti sighs. “You already know that Sendak started out as my sponsor; putting me through school and my dance training when I was young…” he starts. Hunk leans forward a bit, trying to look encouraging. “As I grew up, I…I guess I started to wonder about him. What kind of person Sendak was and why he was supporting me. So I looked him up, and…”

Hunk nods silently in understanding. “How did finding out about the kidnapping make you feel?”

Kiti shuffles in his seat, pulling his legs up to hold them against his body, curling up tight. “… Afraid,” he murmurs. “This was the man I was dependent on to live, to dance. And knowing what I knew, I realized there was no way he was being generous out of the goodness of his heart. He wanted something from me, and if I didn’t want him coming to collect, I’d need to be financially independent.”

He licks his lips, lowering his chin so his knees cover half of his face, his bangs almost hiding the rest. “… And I suppose in some ways I felt kin to the family. I knew what Sendak had done to them; he could do the same to me, too. He could hurt me just as badly if I didn’t do as he wanted.”

Hunk nods grimly again. “Because Madam Orgakana was also a dancer Sendak had tried to court?”

Kiti nods, equally grim. “She was my idol,” he says softly. “I never got to see her perform while she was alive, of course; but I…I’d watch footage of her performances over and over at the orphanage.” A sad, soft smile overtakes his lips. “She was a magnificent dancer. The way she moved is what made me want to dance too. I even chose my stage name as a homage to her; I read in one of her interviews that if she had a son, she’d like to name him Yorak.”

Kiti sighs deeply. “It’s a terrible thing, what happened to her, and her daughter and husband. A whole family, just wiped out like that…”

“But there were surviving family members, weren’t there?” Pidge quips. “Madam Orgkana’s father and brother, right?”

Kiti nods, still not looking at any of them directly. “I think so. But there hasn’t been anything about them in the media in a long time. No one knows what happened to them. They might already be dead too, for all we know.”

Allura places a hand on his knee, finally causing Kiti to look up. He even manages to return her soft, encouraging smile with his own, just a little.

Kiti turns towards Hunk, his expression as neutral as it can be, clear of any emotion. “… Do you really think Shiro killed Sendak?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Hunk says, his tone equally even. “It is a possibility, but we’re not as sure as we made it sound. We mostly just said that to get a rise out of you, and to get Allura to slip up.”

“You could’ve just asked me directly,” Allura huffs, narrowing her eyes.

“I didn’t want to make any accusations until I was sure,” Hunk says, before narrowing his own eyes. “But now that we know, I’m sure you understand we need to ask you some more questions as well.”

Allura sighs, leaning back to rest against the couch. “… Fine. I don’t really have anything to hide anymore, regardless. And before you ask, I have an alibi.”

Pidge blinks. “You do?”

“I was on StarSkype with Lance until about two AM the night of the murder,” Allura admits, her cheeks flushing a little. She’s unable to help the fond little smile that overtakes her face, lighting it up. “That would be until after Sendak died.”

“Did you hear anything if you were up?” Hunk asks.

“I…I think I did, yes,” Allura says, licking her lips in thought. “Around midnight, I recall hearing someone walking in the corridor. I remember it because I thought it was strange that someone was up when the cabin clusters are locked. I figured maybe they just wanted to stretch their legs because they couldn’t sleep. I even mentioned it to Lance.”

“You should’ve told us this before,” Hunk sighs.

“I’m a bad liar, you know that,” Allura says, sounding a little defensive. “I didn’t know what reason I could’ve given for being awake, and if people had known about my alibi, my identity would’ve been compromised, and I didn’t want that to happen.”

Hunk decides to just let it go, for now. It’s in the past anyway.

Instead, he continues with, “Did you hear anything else? Voices?”

“No,” Allura says. “Not voices, but…I think I heard one of the cabin doors slide open. It must’ve been when the murderer went in.”

“And did you hear the door to the cabin cluster open?” Hunk asks.

“I don’t think so,” Allura says. “But I went to the bathroom just before I heard the footsteps. I might’ve missed it.”

Hunk nods. “Thank you for telling us this now, rather than never.”

“I want to help Kiti, just like you,” Allura says sadly, patting the knee of her friend again.

“That reminds me,” Pidge cuts in. “How long have you two known each other, exactly?”

“About eight deca-phoebes,” Allura says, smiling a little with a nostalgic lilt. “We first met when Kiti was starting to gain more fame on Daibazaal and perform for larger, more prestigious audiences. I was visiting the planet at the time and Prince Lotor took me to one of Kiti’s – or rather Yorak’s – shows. We had backstage passes, so afterwards I was able to meet him. I gave him flowers and he surprised me by how he blushed.”

She giggles lightly, and Kiti’s face looks a little darker with a blush of his own, burying his face in his knees in embarrassment.

“We ended up talking for a long time after the show, and I found Kiti to not only be talented, but also loving, caring and kind,” Allura continues fondly. “We promised to keep in contact even after I returned to Altea, and so we have. We’ve been friends since.”

“And how much did you know about Sendak, given he was your friend’s betrothed?” Pidge asks. “Did you know about the Orgkana tragedy?”

“…Not for a long time,” Allura says, her lips tightening. “But I knew Sendak was no good for Kiti as soon as he made him stop dancing.”

Kiti looks up then. “He didn’t make me do anything, Lura.”

“You know he did,” Allura hisses. “I don’t know why you still defend him, even after everything. After how much he’s hurt you.”

“What did he do, exactly?” Hunk cuts in, cold sweat beginning to form at the back of his neck. He doesn’t like the feeling of where this is going. “It sounds like you’re alluding to something specific.”

Kiti snaps his mouth shut, swallowing hard, his eyes darting all over the room and his face paling. Allura averts her eyes, biting her lip, apparently not willing to share if Kiti is not.

“…He broke my ankle,” Kiti’s voice whispers.

Hunk sucks in a breath. “What?”

“A little after our engagement…we were talking about my career,” Kiti murmurs. “We fought, and he grabbed my leg and…” His voice breaks off.

“And now…?” Hunk murmurs, his throat hoarse and dry with horror.

Kiti shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he whispers. “I haven’t dared to dance since, even for fun. I don’t want to know if I can’t. But I don’t think it ever healed right.”

“But you still agreed to dance at Allura’s wedding?” Pidge croaks out.

Kiti shrugs sadly. “I’d promised, and Allura is my dearest friend. I couldn’t break my promise unless something actually prevented me from attending the celebrations.”

Before anyone can say anything more, someone knocks on the door. Hunk sighs, knowing it’s probably their breakfast.

He’s not sure if he’ll be able to eat anything this time either.

…

The group of four all eat their breakfast in a fairly awkward silence, no one seeming to be able to come up with anything to talk about after the earlier intensity. Food feels ashy, and tastes like nothing in Hunk’s mouth, even though he can tell by sight and smell that it’s supposed to be high quality and delicious. As much as it saddens him that he can’t enjoy his meal the way he wishes to, he forces himself to choke some down, knowing he’ll need his strength. He mostly sticks to things that are easy to eat, such as sweetly ripe and fresh fruits and some yoghurt, but he does manage a croissant to go with them, too.

Just as they’re finishing up, there is another knock on the door.

Hunk blinks. “Are you expecting someone?”

“It’s probably Ulaz,” Kiti says, setting his teacup on the saucer with a shaky clank that spills some of the beverage on his plate. He ignores it, getting to his feet. “He gave me something for the pain last night and said he’d come again this morning.”

Hunk nods absentmindedly, sipping his own cup of tea as he gives Pidge a meaningful look. She narrows her eyes, pursing her lips at him, showing that she understands. Hunk stands up from his seat, turning to follow Kiti out of the lounging deck. He finds him and Ulaz by the door of the cabin, whispering about something amongst themselves.

“Ulaz,” he says, raising his hand in a friendly wave, causing the physician to look up. “Are you very busy at the moment? I’d like to ask you some questions, if you don’t mind.”

Ulaz blinks once at him, but otherwise, his expression stays completely neutral. “…I don’t mind, I suppose.”

Hunk nods with a smile. “Could you wait around for a moment? We’re just about done with breakfast. I’ll just say goodbye and we can go to our cabin for a chat.”

“Of course,” Ulaz says with a returning nod, before turning to look down towards Kiti. “Will you be alright, Master Kiti?”

“Yes, Ulaz,” Kiti says. “Thank you for your care. I am grateful that you take the time for me, even though this is supposed to be your vacation.”

Ulaz gives him a hint of a smile. “I can hardly turn my back to you at a time like this, when you need care more than ever.”

“Still,” Kiti says, managing to return his smile, before turning around to start walking towards Hunk and the lounging deck. Hunk follows.

“Could you let Thax know we wish to speak to him as well?” he asks.

“I can do that,” Kiti says. “I’ll send him a message and ask him to head over to your cabin in a little while.”

“Thank you.”

Kiti gives him a small smile. “I think I should be the one thanking you,” he says softly. “I’m not sure if you can really do what you’re aiming towards for me, but I am grateful for your efforts nonetheless. You don’t have to look out for me. You don’t even know me.”

“Maybe,” Hunk says with a light shrug. “But you’re Allura’s friend. That means something. And sometimes we all need a hand.”

Kiti gives him another, slightly bigger smile, before stepping past him into the lounging deck.

“Thank you for the breakfast,” Hunk says towards Allura, making sure not to let her real name slip where Ulaz might be able to hear them. “We’ll be heading out now.”

As Pidge gets to her feet, Allura smiles over at them. “Thank you for joining us. And for everything.”

“We’ll do our best,” Hunk promises over his shoulder as Pidge reaches him.

They walk to Ulaz together, before leading the way out of Allura’s cabin and towards Hunk and Pidge’s. Once inside, the pair settle down on their own couch, while Ulaz sits on one of the armchairs. He doesn’t seem nervous or agitated, but Hunk can’t seem to read him very well in any case. The doctor always seems so in control of himself, so careful to not let anything slip. It makes Hunk wonder what lies behind those yellow eyes all the more, and why he keeps his emotions so tightly wound.

“Alright, now,” Hunk says, seeing Pidge grab a spare tablet from the coffee table to record the conversation. “I’ll get straight to the point, since I’m sure you have things to do, and I also think you understand why you’re here right now. So could you just tell me what you were doing during the night of the murder, in as much detail as you can?”

“I had my own dinner in the servants’ hall before I went to take Master Kiti his medication,” Ulaz begins, his voice even and calm, and evidently not interested in debating whether or not Hunk should be asking these questions of him at all. “Of course, Lord Sendak refused to allow me to administer it that night, so I slipped it into Master Kiti’s drink, as I’ve already told you. After that, I returned to my own cabin. I read until about…one AM I think it was, before I went to sleep. In the morning, I was alerted to my lord’s death and Master Kiti needing something to calm him by Miss Lali.”

“Do you have a roommate who can verify these claims?” Hunk asks.

“Sadly, no,” Ulaz says. “At the beginning of his journey I thought myself quite fortunate for getting a cabin all to myself, but now…”

Hunk nods with a sympathetic smile. “And how was Lord Sendak as an employer, to you?”

“He was uncouth and unkind, but he paid me well. I saw no reason to leave my post for that reason,” Ulaz says. “In his way, he was loyal to those who were loyal to him.”

Pidge leans forward, her brows furrowing. “Were you aware of the Orgkana kidnapping case? And Sendak’s part in it?”

Ulaz purses his lips, the first sign of any visible distress on him. He remains silent for a moment, seeming to consider his answer. “Yes,” he says eventually. “I was barely more than a boy when it happened, but the case was heavily publicized on Daibazaal. It would’ve been impossible to escape it at that time, unless you were in another galaxy.”

“And you didn’t mind working for a man who had done something so terrible?” Pidge presses on.

“Lord Sendak was acquitted in the court of law,” Ulaz says.

Pidge raises her eyebrows. “And you took that as proof he didn’t do it?”

“If there is no faith in the system, everything falls apart,” Ulaz says. “There would be total chaos.”

Hunk swallows down his discomfort. It seems Ulaz and Dayak have more in common than he thought, even if Ulaz clearly didn’t think nearly as highly of Sendak.

For now, he decides it’s best to change the subject. “You said before that you often give Kiti some sedative or another,” he says. “How about Lord Sendak himself? Did he need help sleeping?”

“Quite often, if he actually meant to sleep at night. He stayed up frequently,” Ulaz says, returning to his calm state, saying his words like he was reading from a manual. “Without medication, he was a very light sleeper.”

“But you didn’t give him anything the night he died?” Hunk asks.

“No,” Ulaz says. “Although of course, I can’t be sure he didn’t take anything. He had me give him some to keep in his cabin, since the cabin clusters would be locked, and he couldn’t be sure I’d be able to enter if he needed something in the night.”

“Has that ever happened?” Hunk asks. “That he’s needed you, or summoned you at night?”

“Occasionally,” Ulaz says.

“Did he know you could’ve entered if someone let you in from the inside?” Hunk asks.

“It didn’t come up,” Ulaz says.

“Did  _ you _ know?” Pidge cuts in.

“Yes,” Ulaz says. “I asked one of the staff. I don’t know their name.”

“Why?” Pidge continues.

“In case it came up, I needed to have an answer,” Ulaz says. “Lord Sendak didn’t find it pleasant when people didn’t answer his questions.”

Hunk hums. “And if Lord Sendak had needed you at night during the journey?”

“Thax and I had agreed he’d let me in,” Ulaz says.

“Speaking of,” Pidge cuts in. “What is your relationship with Thax?”

“We’re coworkers,” Ulaz says, shrugging one shoulder. “I don’t know much about him outside of his work. He’s a decent, honest sort of man, but he really doesn’t speak much about himself. Neither do I, however, so…we get on well enough, but I wouldn’t consider us friends.”

Hunk licks his lips, musing, just before there is a knock on the door.

Hunk gets to his feet. “That’s probably Thax,” he says. “Thank you for talking to us, Ulaz. I think that’s all we need for now.”

Ulaz nods, standing up as well, before offering Hunk his hand. “I don’t mind. I know you’re trying to help Master Kiti, and I commend you for it. I do not wish to see him punished for this.”

Hunk takes a hold of Ulaz’s elbow in the traditional Galra fashion of a handshake, looking up into his eyes. “So you don’t think Kiti killed Sendak?”

Ulaz bites his lower lip, swallowing hard. “If he did…I’m certain it was self-defense.”

“Do you think that will be accepted in court?” Pidge quips from the couch.

“I have to believe in that,” Ulaz says, his voice firm.

Hunk lets his face melt into a small smile. “You really care for Kiti, don’t you?”

“He’s a good person,” Ulaz says noncommittally. “I wouldn’t want to see him punished for the wrongs of someone else.”

Hunk nods, before letting go of Ulaz’s elbow, and walking past him to open the door.

Thax gives him a polite smile. “Hello. Master Kiti told me you wished to speak with me?”

“Yes, thank you for coming,” Hunk says with a nod, before stepping out of the way. He turns to Ulaz. “And thank you for your time, Ulaz.”

“Thank you,” Ulaz says, giving him a nod, before turning to give a silent one to Thax, and heading out of the cabin.

“Please, sit,” Hunk says to Thax, before returning to his own seat. Thax settles into the same chair Ulaz occupied. “Do you know why we asked you to come?”

“Not for sure,” Thax says. “But given what’s happened, I can make a guess.”

Hunk nods. “We want to ask you about Lord Sendak and about things relating to his death. Otherwise we think Kiti might get the blame.”

“I believe so too,” Thax says quietly, lowering his head. “I’ll help in any way I can.”

Hunk nods. “That’s good to hear,” he says. “If you could start with telling us a bit more about how you liked working for Lord Sendak? You said some things to me before, but I’d like a bit more information on that.”

“I wouldn’t say I enjoyed working for him, but I didn’t resent it either,” Thax says. “He was demanding and outright horrid at times; but so long as I remained loyal to him, he took care of me and didn’t ask too many questions.”

Pidge raises an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you want him asking questions?”

Thax swallows, licking his lips quickly. “The truth is…I was fairly reckless in my youth, and I ended up making more than a few mistakes before I really realized what it would mean for my future,” he says. “After all that, it was difficult for me to find work, and I couldn’t live off my poor father forever. Lord Sendak was the only one who didn’t care about my background. He only cared about what I could do for him.”

“And what was that?” Pidge asks.

Thax shrugs. “I ran his errands for him, did the paperwork, helped him dress…everything he needed from me, I did,” he says. “Our deal was that he didn’t ask questions from me and I did the same in return for him.”

“Sounds like he had things to hide,” Hunk cuts in. “And you…you previously mentioned he had enemies.”

“He was a rich and powerful man,” Thax says. “And with his character, it was hardly a surprise many didn’t like him. People envied him for much.”

“What about his less than savory business practices?” Pidge asks, leaning forward and narrowing her eyes. “Such as the Orgkana kidnapping?”

Thax’s eyes widen a little. “I…” His voice comes out hoarse, and he swallows to ease it. “I…knew of Lord Sendak’s involvement in the case of course, although I was fairly young when it all happened. But I felt it wasn’t my place to judge, given my own background. And as I said, he was the only one who would take me on as an employee. I couldn’t afford to be too picky.”

“And you weren’t acquainted with the Orgkana family themselves?” Pidge asks.

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “They were of high society, and I was not.”

“But Lord Sendak knew them personally, right?” Hunk asks.

“It was before I came to work for him,” Thax says. “But that’s what people said at the time, yes.”

“Did you hear anything from Lord Sendak himself, relating to them?” Hunk asks. “About the remaining family members, for instance?”

“Not that I recall,” Thax says. “I came to work for him several deca-phoebes after it all happened. I think he had put it all out of his mind for the most part. Although, I’m sure he was still living off the money he received for that poor girl. And before then, I wasn’t really interested in the gossip or the news. I thought it best to let the family mourn in peace, having lost so much.”

He shakes his head. “I did feel so badly for the Old Master Orgkana when it all happened though. Losing his daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter and grandson all at once. How it must’ve shaken him…”

Hearing Thax say that makes Hunk wonder even more how he could’ve worked for someone like Sendak, but he supposes he’s not going to get a really satisfactory answer. Thax was probably just in a desperate situation, needing to take care of both himself and his aging father, and not wanting to be a burden. He was probably also ashamed of his past actions; perhaps he figured working for Sendak was what he deserved for his mistakes.

He decides to change the subject, again. “You told me about the threatening letters,” he says. “Who do you think sent them?”

Thax shrugs, still looking a bit grim. “It could’ve been anyone. There wasn’t anything of significance on them. Just things like  _ We’re coming for you _ or  _ You’ll end up in the pits where you belong _ . Stuff like that.”

“Could it have been someone with a grudge from the Orgakana case? Or something like it?”

“Possibly,” Thax says. “Who knows. Though with the Orgakana case specifically, it was so long ago that I doubt that was the cause. It could’ve been anything.”

“And do you think the letters are related to what happened to him?” Hunk asks.

“They could be,” Thax says. “Perhaps our cabin cluster wasn’t locked after all, or someone stole a key. They came in during the night and killed my lord because of some grudge they held against him.”

Hunk hums. “But you didn’t hear or see anything that night that would prove it?”

“No,” Thax says. “But then, I am quite the heavy sleeper. Once I fall asleep, I can only really awaken when it’s done purposefully.”

“But you had your special room in the same cabin because Sendak might need you in the night, right?” Pidge presses. “So how would he wake you then?”

“There is a button on his nightstand,” Thax says. “Once he pressed it, it would ring a bell in my room, and that’s quite enough to wake me, I can assure you.”

“But he didn’t press it last night?” Pidge asks.

“No,” Thax says. “Like I said, I didn’t hear anything. I slept until I heard Master Kiti scream in the morning.”

Hunk hums. “I think that’s about all we need from you, Thax. Thanks for coming to talk to us.”

“It was no problem,” Thax says, getting to his feet. “I just hope I was of some assistance.”

Hunk doesn’t say it, but he hopes so too.

…

After Thax goes, Hunk and Pidge go over their tapes, making notes and discussing everything that was mentioned, all the theories they might have, now that they’ve talked to everyone who might be involved.

“Lance confirmed Allura’s alibi,” Hunk muses, putting it down in a note. “So, she’s in the clear.”

“I don’t think Dayak did it,” Pidge says. “It would be easy if it was her, she’s so unlikeable, but…”

“Can we rule out Shiro?” Hunk asks, tapping his lip with the tablet pen. “He was pretty vague about stuff, and he did come into the cluster.”

“I suppose…” Pidge muses. “I also had an unpleasant thought. What if Shiro and Kiti did it together? Like, maybe Kiti took the drug afterwards to make it seem like he was asleep? It would’ve been easy, if Sendak had some in any case…”

“I’m sure someone will throw out that theory in court,” Hunk says, sighing. “Though that would mean Ulaz lied as well.”

“He clearly cares about Kiti,” Pidge says. “He and Thax both do. He could’ve lied to protect him.”

Hunk sighs again, lowering his head. “This would all be so much easier if we knew the exact timeframe for how long Kiti was asleep, if he was…”

“Yeah…” Pidge says, tapping her finger on the tablet, causing another recording to start. “I don’t think this tape is of any use…even if we knew who did this, I don’t know if we could prove it…”

Hunk hums, going over his notes with his eyes as he listens to the tape with one ear.

“Wait,” he says, his head snapping up. “Play that part again.”

Pidge taps the recording, starting it again.

“Was that bit in any of the articles?” Hunk asks.

“I…I don’t think so,” Pidge says. “Let me check.”

She starts furiously tapping on the tablet, but Hunk already knows in his gut. She won’t find it.

They’ve got the murderer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me at work this week: I need to stop thinking about murder (mysteries).
> 
> Enjoy finding out whodunnuit ;).

Pidge and Hunk call around, visit their cabin cluster mates in their cabins and send out messages, asking everyone involved in the case to join them for breakfast in their cabin the next morning. They don’t give out any hints about their true intentions, wanting everyone’s reactions to what they have to say to be as genuine and unrehearsed as possible. They do not want to give them time to think about their answers either. Besides, for the innocent parties, they don’t wish for the breakfast to become another thing to spend a sleepless night over, pondering how things are going to turn out, and what Hunk and Pidge are planning to do about them.

They review their plan and notes over an ordered-in dinner on the cabin’s couch, before retiring for the night, excitement and nerves bubbling in Hunk’s stomach in equal measure. Despite that, the knowledge that they’ve found their solution allows him to settle into a peaceful dream, sleeping the night soundly for the first time since this journey started.

He and Pidge wake up early the next morning, putting on casual but respectable clothes, before ordering in a huge breakfast. They are set to feed everyone who will be coming with an extension for their table on the lounging deck so they’ll all fit around it.

Allura, back in her disguise of Lali, along with Kiti, are the first ones to arrive right after the breakfast is delivered. Hunk and Pidge greet them with warm hugs, before leading them to their seats. Soon after, Dayak knocks on the door, looking sour and displeased, but the fact she showed up at all is the most important thing, so Hunk pays her displeasure little mind. He’s fairly sure she’s more curious than she wants to let on, given her secret gossipy tendencies.

Shiro arrives next with Rolo, whom Hunk and Pidge asked him to bring along. Shiro at least seems a little suspicious, and likely having an idea of what might really be going on. Kiti doesn’t look anywhere near Shiro as Hunk guides Rolo and him to sit on the lounging deck. Finally, Ulaz and Thax come in, allowing Hunk and Pidge to take their own seats at the table with them.

No one says anything as they all begin eating, most of the people at the table keeping their eyes down on their plates. The atmosphere feels almost too thick with tension to breathe properly, but Hunk makes sure to make himself eat something to give him the strength. He’s going to need it to get through this. It also works as a way to make a show of things being normal, even though with everyone present, he’s certain they’re all starting to catch on that this is anything but.

“So,” he starts, giving Pidge a quick meaningful glance, before turning to address everyone else at the table, dropping all pretense. “I’m sure you’re all curious why we’ve called you here this morning.”

There are some meaningful glances exchanged between their guests, as well as some agreeable murmuring, though no one says what they’re clearly all thinking directly.

“The truth is, we believe we’ve figured out who killed Lord Sendak, and why,” Pidge says, moving to place a hand to cover Hunk’s in a comforting manner.

Kiti’s eyes widen. “Really?”

“I thought we already knew who killed him,” Dayak huffs, taking a sip of her cup of hot tea, brewed perfect to suit a Galra. “So why are we here wasting everyone’s time?”

“Because this case was a lot more complicated than it seems at first glance,” Hunk says, his tone low and serious. “It was a strange murder from the start. So many people had ample motive and opportunity. His betrothed Kiti was completely under his thumb, having lost everything because of Lord Sendak, yet unable to leave him and the horrid ways he treated him.”

“Captain Shirogane, who openly admitted to us that he would rather be punished for Lord Sendak’s death than see Kiti endure the consequences for it,” Pidge continues. “He’s a man still devoted to Kiti, despite his engagement to someone else, and had to watch how Kiti suffered every time he and Sendak traveled on this ship. A man who also admitted to visiting this cabin cluster during the night of the murder, when the security tape was also conveniently wiped.”

“What?” Kiti breathes, his alarmed, paling face snapping towards Shiro, looking at him properly for the first time all morning.

“I told you,” Shiro says, his voice calm enough but his shoulders tense in a way that belies the storm raging within. “I don’t know why there was no security tape. I even tried to find it myself, hoping to see who the killer is.”

“You can’t possibly suspect Captain Shirogane of doing something like this,” Rolo cuts in. “He’s a man of honor and dignity. He would never stoop so low as to hide something, let alone kill someone in the first place.”

“You’re right,” Hunk says, feeling a touch of a smirk at the corner of his mouth. “But you aren’t, are you, Rolo?”

Rolo’s eyes widen, his purple complexion turning ashier. “What?”

“I looked into your background a little more,” Pidge says, leaning forward with a smirk of her own on her lips. “Before you came to work on the Atlas, you were known for small petty crimes and deeds. Theft, hustling, that sort of thing… but also for some less-than-legal work with technology. Erasing a tape you had full access to wouldn’t have been much of a problem for you.”

“Captain Shirogane gave you a chance at a decent life, possibly even thought your background would help you catch thieves on the Atlas,” Hunk continues. “He was the reason you have the good life you do now. But if he went to jail or worse, who knows what the next Captain would think of or do with you?”

“…Rolo?” Shiro murmurs, looking at the man beside him with scrunched eyebrows.

“…Alright, so I did it,” Rolo hisses, his eyes on his knees. “I saw the Captain on the tape. And I didn’t think anyone else should see it.” He looks up, turning towards his boss. “You helped me out when I needed it most, sir. I only wanted to pay you back.”

“Did you see anything else on that tape?” Shiro asks, his voice quick and breathy. “Anyone else?”

Rolo shakes his head. “I didn’t watch past you arriving at the cabin cluster. I didn’t want to see any more, in case I was asked to testify. Then I could just say I had seen you enter the cabin cluster, but nothing more.”

“Shiro,” Kiti’s voice snaps, turning everyone’s eyes towards him. His eyebrows are lowered in anger, his cheeks and mouth tense. “I hope that you didn’t do this. Because if you did, I’ll never forgive you.”

Shiro’s expression softens with sorrow, his eyes gleaming. “Kiti…”

Kiti’s lower lip begins to tremble, his eyes starting to glow with tears. “Why? Why did you do this?” he croaks out. “Why can’t you just let me go already?”

“Because I can’t,” Shiro hisses. “Not until I know you’re safe and happy.”

“If you ruined your life because of me, I’ll never be happy again,” Kiti chokes out, the first tear escaping his eye. He wipes it away with a furious fist, not seeming to care that he touches his healing bruise.

“That actually brings us to an important point,” Hunk cuts in, looking over at Kiti across the table. “No matter how much you try to deny it, I think it’s obvious to anyone with eyes that you still care about Shiro.”

“Well, that just settles it, doesn’t it?” Dayak huffs. “This harlot wanted to get together with Captain Shirogane, so he murdered Lord Sendak so he wouldn’t stand in their way.”

“That is a possibility,” Hunk concedes. “Especially since we believe Lord Sendak is what caused them to split in the first place.”

“What?” Shiro breathes.

“You said it yourself, Shiro,” Pidge picks up. “You don’t know why Kiti left you five years ago, following your kidnapping. But you’re sure Sendak had something to do with it.”

“We believe you were right about that, but in a way much worse than you probably ever considered,” Hunk says softly, gently. “Would you tell me if I’m correct, Kiti, when I say that Sendak was involved in Shiro’s kidnapping and torture five years ago?”

There’s a general intake of breath around the room, all eyes turning towards Kiti as his shoulders tremble and a few more tears slip down onto his cheeks.

Kiti swallows hard, looking down at his lap, before he mumbles, “…Yes.”

Hunk ignores the murmurs and whispers around them, keeping his eyes and tone gentle as he focuses on Kiti. “Can you tell me – us – what happened?”

Kiti swallows again, taking a few deep breaths. Allura reaches over to put a comforting hand on his leg. It seems to give him the strength he needs, because he begins with a shaky voice, “When Shiro first disappeared…I looked for him everywhere,” he says softly. “Everyone said he was probably just busy or avoiding me, but I…I knew something was wrong. I could feel it. Shiro doesn’t break promises. And he’d promised to meet me after one of my shows, and didn’t show up.”

He licks his lips, seeming to try and steady himself. “When I was looking… I ran into Sendak. I was shocked because I rarely saw him in person. And he said – he said he knew where Shiro was. And that he could show me.” He looks up, tears gleaming on his cheeks, but his gaze is blank and emotionless, as if he’s blocking himself from feeling anything, in order to be able to keep talking. “I wasn’t sure I believed him, but…I went with him anyway. I didn’t want to make him angry. He took me to this building, into a dark room and…”

His shoulders shake violently. “He turned on the lights. Behind glass, in a padded room, Shiro was held up by his hands, blindfolded and bleeding. Sendak…he wouldn’t answer me when I demanded he tell me what was going on. He just entered the room where Shiro was, and…” A bitter smile, twisted and pained, graces his lips. “He used his own prosthetic cut off Shiro’s arm, right there in front of me.”

Hunk swallows hard to keep down his churning nausea, as everyone begins murmuring in shock around him once more.

“Kiti,” Shiro breathes. “Is that why you…”

Kiti averts his eyes. “He said he’d do worse if I kept seeing you,” he croaks. “He said I owed him and I’d broken the rules he’d set for me. And he was right. I always knew…I knew we shouldn’t have been together. And you nearly died because I was too weak to stay away.”

“Kiti, that’s not on you,” Shiro says, soft but firm. “Sendak is the one that hurt me. It’s his fault, all of it. And now he’s gone, and I know the truth, and…”

“No,” Kiti says, wrapping his arms around his own thin torso. Allura shifts closer to him in her seat to hold him in comfort as well. “I’m not the boy you once knew, Shiro. I’m ruined. I don’t even know if I can dance anymore. And you have no idea what I’ve done over the deca-phoebes, how I’ve…”

“Been taking drugs?” Pidge cuts in.

Kiti looks up, his eyes wide, taking in a sharp breath.

“I looked up the drug Ulaz used to put you to sleep,” Pidge says. “It’s heavy-duty stuff. Not something a doctor would give to someone who hasn’t done anything outside of sleep meds before.”

“Not to mention yesterday at breakfast, your hands were starting to shake before Ulaz brought you medication,” Hunk continues softly. “You were starting to have withdrawal symptoms without your usual dosage.”

Kiti’s lower lip trembles, before he looks down again. “…It started when Sendak stopped me from dancing. I took the drugs to keep down the pain,” he murmurs, clearly being vague about the broken ankle inflicted on him due to the audience present. “But Sendak took advantage of that and started giving me more and more. I didn’t dare defy him. Not then. And in time, I…”

“You became addicted,” Hunk muses softly.

“It became a cycle,” Kiti sobs, his shoulders trembling as tears fall down onto his tight fists on his lap. “I wanted the drugs to forget everything, and to numb the pain. But after a while, Sendak wouldn’t give them to me without me doing something in return. And afterwards, I’d want the drugs even more, because I had even more I needed to forget. It just went on and on and…”

“So you hated Sendak, but you also couldn’t escape him for more reasons than one,” Pidge states.

Allura’s head snaps up, and she gives Pidge a sharp, icy look as she pulls Kiti in tighter in her arms. “That’s enough.”

“Indeed,” Hunk says. “Because while Kiti may have hated Sendak, and felt trapped, he did not in fact kill him.”

“What?” Dayak breathes. “That’s preposterous. I didn’t come here to listen to this.”

As she begins to raise from her seat, Hunk hurries to speak, “Let me explain,” he says. “We believe the testimonies of Kiti and Ulaz both are true and match up. Kiti was drugged during dinner to sleep while Sendak was killed right beside him. He did not do it, and he wasn’t awake to witness it either.”

“He could’ve taken the drug later,” Dayak hisses. “Tried to mess up the timeline.”

“That doesn’t explain the pattern of blood on his clothes from that night,” Hunk says. “And given the angles of the knife wounds, they couldn’t have been inflicted from the angle that he was lying in.”

“We did consider Kiti might’ve asked Shiro to help him, to kill Sendak while he slept,” Hunk continues. “But we came to the conclusion that that hadn’t happened either – Shiro really did leave after he’d stood in the corridor of the cabin cluster for a while. Honestly, Rolo’s tampering didn’t do anyone much good in the end.” He gives the master at arms a meaningful look, “We did come to another conclusion, though.”

“And that was that Kiti wasn’t the only one who was drugged that night,” Pidge fills in.

Hunk nods. “Everyone who actually was up to hear something the night of the murder said the same thing – that they heard absolutely nothing that would suggest a crime so violent was taking place. The most they heard were footsteps. And I think no matter how heavy a sleeper – which Lord Sendak was not, according to Ulaz’s testimony – anyone would wake up when being stabbed, don’t you think?”

“And a man like Sendak would’ve also likely put up a fight. Made a ruckus, if someone was attacking him in the middle of the night,” Pidge says. “So we think it’s reasonable to assume Sendak was also drugged and therefore unable to respond when he was killed.”

“Are we correct, Ulaz?” Hunk asks, turning towards the doctor. His gaze is followed by everyone else at the table.

Ulaz lowers his yellow eyes down to his lap, closing them with a sigh. “…Yes,” he says softly. “I drugged my lord during dinner as well. I hoped it might spare Master Kiti at least some of the pain, even if for just one night. I had no idea my actions would be used against my lord so drastically.”

“Oh, but I think you did,” Hunk says, his tone severe. “You see, when we thought about Kiti possibly having teamed up with Shiro for this murder, we were mistaken. But it did lead us to another thought – what if the murder was not committed by a single individual? In a way that was planned out for years, deliberately and down to every last detail…”

“If it wasn’t for the ship’s cabin cluster policy changing so suddenly, you might have gotten away with it too,” Pidge continues. “We believe the plan was originally to make it seem like an assassin or an outsider had come in to kill Sendak. The threatening letters were all a part of it, as was the timing of the murder. It would’ve seemed like the murderer had vanished into the night, getting off at the station at the Dalterion Belt, never to be seen or heard from again.”

“That’s a very interesting theory,” Ulaz says, calm and cool as ever. “But what reason would I have for killing Lord Sendak? Without him, I’m out of a job.”

“Well, aside from your obvious care for Kiti, that brings us to our second issue with this case,” Hunk says. “Namely how, exactly, you were able to get into the cabin cluster during the night when you weren’t residing in it? And moreover, how did you manage to drug Lord Sendak when he wasn’t close enough for you to spike his drink the way you were able to do with Kiti’s during dinner?”

Hunk smirks. “There is only one explanation, relating to our previous point. Kiti wasn’t the one with the accomplice. It was you. And it’s also the key to this entire case.” He looks up. “Isn’t that right, Thax?” Thax’s eyes widen, but Hunk won’t so much as allow him to take a breath before he presses on, “Or should I say, Young Master Thace Orgkana?”

“What?” someone, or perhaps everyone, gasps, but Hunk refuses to look away from Thax – Thace – staring him down.

“He’s the younger brother of Madam Krolia Orgkana, the mother of little Acxa Orgkana, who was kidnapped thirty years ago on Daibazaal by Sendak.” Hunk says, watching as Thace’s expression tenses, ignoring Dayak’s incredulous huffing. “The brother who disappeared, as if he hadn’t existed at all, after his sister and her family lost their lives. Completely vanished from the public eye, despite his famous sister and wealthy background, no one having seen or heard from him for thirty years…”

“We found that odd from the start,” Pidge continues. “How could someone, especially someone who had been so prolific both before and after the Orgkana kidnapping, disappear so completely from the public eye? So I dug in a little deeper, going into Thace’s school records. It seems he lost his way after his sister’s family died, and started misbehaving and getting into fights. The school was willing to look the other way for some time, but eventually, it seems their patience ran out. Thace was kicked out before he could graduate.”

“You talked about your troubled past, Thace,” Hunk says, deliberately dropping the man’s real name. “I don’t think you were lying about that. But you were also leaving some truths out. Like how you liked the fact Sendak didn’t ask much about you, because it allowed you to lie about who you really were. It was easy for you, since no one had seen you since you’d been young – I’m assuming that was your father’s influence, keeping your misdeeds out of the press with your family money?”

Thace says nothing, his shoulders and expression tense but steady.

“Even if this was all true,” Ulaz cuts in. “What reason would I have to help Thax – Thace? I told you, we barely know each other.”

“We assume that’s merely a story you both came up with to make your guilt or partnership less obvious,” Pidge says with a thin smile. “I told you, I did more digging. And guess who went to school with Young Master Thace?”

“A son of a small village doctor, who got in by his sheer brilliance alone, called Ulaz Maallis,” Hunk says. “You should’ve thought about presenting Sendak a fake name too, but I suppose you didn’t see the reason. He didn’t know who you were, and I doubt he would have cared.”

“I also found something else,” Pidge says. “A marriage record in Daibazaal’s planetary files, for one Thace Orgkana and Ulaz Maallis, who was listed as recently having graduated from his medical studies.”

There’s some shocked murmuring around the lounging deck.

“But we imagine, even after you were married, the fate of his sister and niece wouldn’t leave Thace alone,” Hunk says. “Sendak had robbed him of so much, including his own life and future, that seemed to have died with those he cared about.”

“So in the end, he and Ulaz hatched up a plan,” Pidge says. “Thace would go work for Sendak, get into his inner circle, and begin to gain his trust, all the while planning for the best way to get revenge.”

“…That wasn’t,” Thace hisses under his breath.

“Pardon?” Hunk says.

“That wouldn’t have been revenge,” Thace growls, looking up with flaming eyes and bared teeth. “It would’ve been  _ justice _ . He got away with everything, while my sister and her family were rotting in the ground far before their time!”

“Darling…” Ulaz murmurs, moving to place a hand on his thigh, his expression sad and weary.

Thace turns away, closing his mouth with a heavy hiss. “My sister and her family were good people. Axca was only  _ three deca-phoebes old _ . They didn’t deserve…they didn’t…”

“Your sister was very important to you, wasn’t she?” Hunk asks softly.

“Growing up, she was everything to me,” Thace mumbles, turning to face him again. “Because Mother died when I was born, and Krolia was quite a bit older than I was, in some ways she filled that maternal role in my life. I adored her, and when she had Acxa, I adored her too. I was still young enough that we could play together. We picked flowers on the grounds of my sister’s estate, we went on picnics… Acxa, was so excited about becoming a big sister, about having her brother join us in the fun next summer…”

“But that summer never came, did it?” Hunk says. “Instead, before winter, your sister’s entire family was dead.”

Thace bites his lip. “…We couldn’t even get them justice,” he hisses. “Sendak just got away with all he’d done, took his blood money and left. Ready to do what he’d done to them to someone else.”

“To Kiti,” Hunk says with a nod.

“We aren’t quite as sure about  _ your _ motives,” Pidge cuts in with a nod towards Ulaz. “Did you go along with Thace just because you loved him, or was there something else to it?”

Ulaz lowers his eyes, biting his lip. He looks tense – pained – for the first time that Hunk has seen.

“…I’d spent summers with Thace’s family before. They were kind, good people. They didn’t look down on me despite the fact that I had no money and was just a simple country boy trying to make it.” He sighs. “When Thace got the news about Axca’s disappearance, I insisted on going with him to see his sister. He tried to tell me no, but I persuaded him otherwise, knowing he’d need me. I was there when the ransom was filed, when the money was given, and when…”

“When we found Acxa on the doorstep,” Thace finishes for him, his voice bitter. “I see her, still. Even after all this time, I see her small body beaten and torn apart every time I close my eyes.”

There’s a moment’s pained silence.

“As you said, my father was a doctor for our little village in the countryside,” Ulaz says, breaking the quiet. “We didn’t have much – barely any tools, let alone a nurse or an assistant. So I helped him with his work quite often. When Krolia went into early labor after seeing Acxa’s body, I did my best to help her.”

“The authorities, the ones who should’ve been there for us, just stood there,” Thace hisses. “We later found out that most of them were actually working for Sendak. He was likely watching us. Those people, who should’ve been helping us,  _ wanted  _ Krolia to die.”

“But the baby she gave birth to didn’t die, did he?” Hunk says. “He was alive when he came into the world.”

“Alive, and loud,” Ulaz says, smiling sadly. “He was vibrant in my arms, although he was small. I thought he was so strong. Even as Krolia began to bleed on me, I…” His voice breaks away, and he averts his eyes.

“You were sure he’d live, right?” Hunk presses on. “And he was still alive when you brought him to the hospital?”

Thace looks up, a soft, sad – almost concerned – look on his face. “Do you know…?”

“I believe I do.” Hunk nods, before turning towards Kiti with soft, sympathetic eyes. “I’m afraid this won’t be easy for you to hear, but I think it’s about time you learn the truth.”

“What truth?” Kiti whispers.

“I think you should be the one to tell him, finally,” Hunk says, gesturing towards Thace.

He nods. “It isn’t widely known, but Sendak didn’t target Acxa randomly.”

“He was in love with your sister, right?” Pidge quips. “Back when she was a dancer.”

Thace huffs. “More like he was obsessed with her,” he says. “She dared to reject him, because she knew he wasn’t a good man, and it only made him lust for her more. When she chose a non-Galra over him, it was the ultimate insult, especially after Acxa was born. She represented everything Sendak thought he had been denied, and so he took her, and killed her to punish my sister.” His fists tighten with unraveling anger on his lap. “The money he received was merely an additional benefit. And when my sister died, in addition to her daughter, it was the perfect victory for him.”

“And then, much later, he seized his chance to redo what he had failed with Krolia,” Hunk says softly, turning to Kiti. “With another dancer, who was so much like her, who was indebted to him, and who by all means should fall in love with him… A lonely orphan, who seemingly no one wanted, except for him.”

“But that wasn’t so random either, was it?” Pidge says. “He didn’t choose Kiti just because. He very deliberately targeted him?”

Thace licks his lips. “…Yes,” he murmurs, eyes cast down. “I only found out for sure a few deca-phoebes ago, when Sendak had really begun to trust me and confide in me, especially under the influence. But…in my heart I’d known for a long time. Ever since I saw him dance. He looked and moved just like my sister. I knew that it couldn’t be a coincidence.”

He looks up, turning his eyes towards Kiti, whose eyes widen, before he swallows hard. “…What are you trying to say?”

Thace leans forward, his gaze soft and sad. “You’re my nephew,” he says, causing Kiti to suck in a heavy breath. “You’re that child we were told died from complications at the hospital. We were shown the body of a dead child and we were too overcome with grief to question it. But in truth…Sendak had paid off someone in the hospital to take you away and leave you at the orphanage you grew up in. Just so he could later show up back in your life, and groom you to be the mate he’d lost the chance to have in Krolia.”

Kiti’s breaths comes out high and heavy, as if he’s choking on air, as his whole body shakes. His shock seems to have overstepped even his tears, because they stay at bay. His expression is blank and numb; frozen and unable to so much as speak, even with Allura holding him tight, staring down Thace over Kiti’s head.

“The reason they called you Kiti at the orphanage is because it was the closest the person who took you could get, in the Galran language, to the name your human father chose for you before he died. The name on the piece of paper you were left with,” Thace continues in a quiet tone. “’Keith’ your father said it was in his tongue. He’s also the reason your eyes are white.”

Silently, as Kiti blinks, tears begin rolling down his cheeks. “Why?” he mutters. “Why didn’t you save me? Why didn’t you just take me away?”

“He would’ve found us. You know that,” Thace sighs.

“We tried the legal paths first,” Ulaz cuts in. “It’s why Thace went to work for Sendak in the first place. Despite how the authorities had failed us in the past, we…or at least I, still believed in the system. We thought if Thace could gather enough evidence about Sendak’s activities, we could still put him behind bars…”

“But that didn’t happen, did it?” Pidge says.

“It worked just as well as it had the first time he hurt my family,” Thace hisses. “I stayed with him for deca-phoebes, undercover but constantly in jeopardy, working for the man I loathed… And yet when I went to the authorities with everything I had, they made it seem like I was mad. Told me to forget about everything and just disappear. Sendak had them all in his pocket, either through money or because they were too afraid to stand up to him. Either way, there was no justice to be found from the authorities.”

“So you admit to it then?” Hunk says. “That you killed him?”

“I think it’d be difficult to deny it at this point,” Thace says, before covering Ulaz’s hand. “I slipped something into one of Sendak’s drinks during the dinner. It was a drug that would slowly paralyze him, leaving him unable to move or react to anything, but still awake within the confines of his body. When we returned to the cabin, his limbs began to stiffen up, and he laid down beside Kiti, who had already fallen asleep. He asked me to call for Ulaz.”

“Which he did…eventually,” Ulaz continues. “I was meant to come in earlier, but Thace could hear someone in the corridor. No we know it must’ve been Captain Shirogane. So we had to wait. But thankfully the drug Sendak was given has very long-lasting effects.”

“In a way, I enjoyed him only being able to stare at me, as I told him exactly who I was, how long I’d been fooling him and what was going to happen to him,” Thace says. “I always wanted him to be aware of his execution, of the reason he had been doomed.”

“You could’ve just killed him then and there,” Pidge cuts in. “Why didn’t you? Why wait for Ulaz?”

“Because he’d made me promise to do so, so that less suspicion would fall on me,” Thace says softly, turning towards his husband. “I don’t deny that we stabbed Sendak to death. I don’t deny I wanted him dead. But please, just punish me. Don’t punish Ulaz. He never wuld’ve got involved if it wasn’t for me.”

“No,” Ulaz says, shaking his head, turning to Thace. “I told you once that I’d stay by you, no matter what you needed. And I knew what the consequences were, going into this. I don’t want you to carry them alone.”

Thace smiles silently at him, leaning forward to press their foreheads together affectionately.

“Well, I’ve heard just about enough,” Rolo says, standing up. “Let’s go, you two.”

“I have to ask though,” Thace says, looking up towards Hunk. “What made you suspect us?”

“You knew the gender of Krolia Orgkana’s second child,” Hunk says. “It wasn’t mentioned in any outsider sources that we could find. Only someone who had been there would have known that. After that, it was just a matter of connecting the dots.”

Thace lets his eyes slip shut, as a smile graces his lips and he makes a soft humming sound. “I see.”

“This isn’t right,” Shiro speaks up, his shoulders tense and voice agitated. “Sendak was a monster. He deserved to die. They don’t deserve to go down for his murder.”

“That’s up to the courts to decide,” Dayak speaks up with a surprisingly soft voice, and saddened face. She seems to have lost all reason to seem spiteful or overly proud in the face of the revelations, watching quietly as Rolo begins to handcuff the two male Galra.

“The assassin explanation may still work out for them,” Allura muses, stroking Kiti’s back in comfort, almost absentmindedly. “Although it escapes me why they ended up doing it now in any case? Shouldn’t they have waited for a better time, since they knew the cabin clusters would be locked?”

“I imagine the policy wasn’t likely to change anytime soon,” Hunk says. “And they had to do it now. They were running out of time.”

“Out of time?”

“The fright Kiti told you about in his letter was likely very appropriate,” Hunk says, looking up towards Ulaz and Thace. “I imagine you Ulaz, as Kiti’s physician, had divulged the information that Sendak was planning to impregnate him soon. If he did that, Kiti would truly never really be able to escape him, not if he ever wanted to see his children. It would’ve created a bond much more difficult to break than a simple marriage.”

“You’re correct,” Ulaz says with a sad nod. “We had to do it on this journey. There was no other option. Everything else was planned out, aside from that one little detail we had to improvise on. But on a moving vessel, there would regardless be more suspects, so we decided to leave it up to the Gods to see if we would get away with it.”

He glances towards Kiti, still silently weeping in Allura’s arms. “Although if it had come to it, we would’ve surrendered ourselves. Master Kiti didn’t deserve to go down for something we had done, when we partially did it to save him.”

Kiti says nothing, simply averting his eyes, as if he doesn’t want to hear any more of it.

Regardless, Thace speaks, “Kiti, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry about everything.” Kiti still doesn’t so much as move. “But I hope you know you were always loved and wanted. You still are. Your grandfather is still out there. I’m sure he’d love to know you’re alive.”

Kiti bites down on his lip, saying nothing, as Rolo escorts Thace and Ulaz off of the lounging deck.

“Why?” he murmurs after they’ve gone, looking down at his hands. “Why does everything I touch become ruined?”

“Kiti,” Shiro says, getting up from his seat and walking over to him. Allura lets go of Kiti, following Shiro’s movements with her eyes and allowing him to crouch by Kiti’s seat and take his hands. “Please don’t say that. Whatever Sendak, Thace, Ulaz or anyone did, even if they claim to have done it for you; it isn’t your responsibility. They made their own choices. That’s not on you.”

Kiti’s lower lip trembles. “How can you still have faith in me?” he murmurs. “After all that’s happened? How can you still look at me like that? Touch me like this?”

“You know why,” Shiro says, soft and earnest, his eyes never leaving Kiti’s face. “I’ve never stopped loving you. You know that.”

“…Even though I may never be able to dance like I used to?” Kiti murmurs. “Even though my body is broken and after all the things I’ve personally done?”

“Kiti, I never loved you for your dancing,” Shiro says firmly. “It breaks my heart to think you may not be able to dance again, because it meant so much to you. But that’s not going to stop me from loving you. And I know you might need some time to heal, both physically and emotionally, but…I want to be there with you. By your side, helping you, in any capacity you’ll allow. If…if you’ll let me.”

For a moment, no one says anything. Kiti and Shiro simply look at each other in silence; Kiti still seeming like he’s trying not to cry. Shiro looks cautiously earnest and hopeful, his emotions lighting up his scarred face.

“Kiti,” Hunk cuts in with a gentle tone, drawing his attention. “I think it’s about time you forgive yourself, for everything you might blame yourself for. And you should let yourself finally be happy, and have what you really want. Because I think that’s right in front of you.”

Kiti looks back down, peering deep into Shiro’s eyes once more, his tears slowly starting to dry up. He doesn’t quite manage a smile, but there is something in his gaze. Something that reassures Hunk.

“Kiti, when Sendak was first killed, I asked you to join me in my quarters,” Shiro says. “Will you let me ask you again now?”

Kiti looks at him, looks at Allua who nods at him with a happy smile, before turning back to Shiro. This time, he manages a smile of his own; a beautiful, open one that Hunk has never seen on him before. It makes him look years younger, lighting up his face and revealing his white teeth, bringing out a little bit of that youthful beauty and fire he used to have when he still danced. It makes Hunk’s heart clench with joy, seeing it on him again.

“Yes,” he says with a nod at Shiro. “Yes, I will.”

…

It seems strange how the last few days of the journey on the Atlas pass for Hunk and Pidge. Knowing there’s not much more they can do for anyone else until they land on Altea, they finally try and take a little time for themselves instead. They make the best of their allotted vacation time on the luxury ship by taking part in all the activities and relaxation methods it has to offer, like they had originally planned. In between, they eat breakfast with Allura and talk the case over, wondering what might become of Thace and Ulaz.

As for Shiro and Kiti, they seem to have locked themselves away from the world. Aside from occasional updates from Kiti to Allura about small things he and Shiro have been up to, although he doesn’t reveal anything more serious. He likely sends those messages more for Allura’s benefit, so she won’t worry too much. And Hunk can’t really blame him for wanting some alone time with Shiro and away from any outside influences, friendly or not. After everything that’s happened, Shiro and Kiti are bound to have plenty to talk about, to catch up on and to sort out between themselves.

When the Atlas finally docks on Altea, and Hunk and Pidge get to disembark with Allura and meet up with Lance, the awful events of the journey slowly begin to take a backseat. Everything becomes a flurry of last minute wedding planning, good friends and happier times. By the time the day of the wedding actually dawns, Hunk has mostly put thoughts of the tragedy out of his head, fully able to throw himself into the festivities and his duties as the best man of a royal wedding. Enjoying the beauty and the serenity of it all mixing perfectly with the nerves and the chaos.

He does try to look for Kiti during all of it, but never quite manages to catch him, if he’s there. But given how many people are present at the wedding, not to mention involved in it, he tries not to worry about it too much. He just hopes Kiti could make it, given how close he and Allura seemed. Kiti deserves to see Allura glow with happiness and loveliness on the most important day of her life, as she and Lance vow their everlasting love to each other in front of hundreds of guests.

The reception is even grander than the wedding itself, and the food and drink are plentiful and delicious. And it is between the meal and dessert that Hunk sees someone take the seat next to him, recently vacated by one of Allura’s cousins.

As he turns to look, he finds the Captain of the Atlas smiling towards him.

“Shiro,” he breathes happily. “How are you? How is Kiti?”

“We spent the rest of the journey here talking,” Shiro says, soft and happy. “We’re going to give things – us – another shot. He needs time to heal, we both know that, but…I’ve told him that I want to be there through the process. With whatever he needs.”

“That’s wonderful,” Hunk says, returning Shiro’s smile. “Is he here too?”

“Yes, we’re here together actually,” Shiro says. “He couldn’t participate in the actual ceremony because he wasn’t able to be present for the preparations, and Princess Allura had already chosen her wedding party. The two of them both agreed it seemed unfair to slip Kiti in at the last minute, especially since he’s been taking this time to rest. We all know he needs that.”

Hunk nods. “What about Thace and Ulaz? Do you know what will become of them?”

“It’s impossible to say right now,” Shiro says. “We’ll hand them over to the authorities once we reach Daibazaal. But there might be hope for them yet. After all, Thace is part of the society, even if he’s known as a bit of a bad boy. I don’t doubt his father will come to his aid. He and Ulaz might even get a light sentence, if people are sympathetic to them, which they might be. Given who Sendak was and how he manipulated the authorities on Daibazaal for so long.”

Before Hunk can properly respond, his attention is caught by ringing voice speaking into a microphone, pulling his attention towards the stage at the end of the reception hall. “Excuse me, could I have your attention, please?”

On the stage, along with the Altean man with a big orange moustache whom Hunk has come to know as Coran over the past few days, stands Kiti dressed up in what can only be a dancer’s outfit, no traces of the bruise on his cheek left anymore. Seeing the eyes on them, Coran steps aside to let Kiti to the mic.

“Hello everyone,” Kiti says, his voice self-consciously soft and his shoulders hunched slightly with nerves. “My name is Kiti, although some of you might know me by the name Yorak. Princess Allura is a dear friend of mine, and a long time ago I made a promise to dance at her wedding. I’m afraid I’m quite rusty, but for her, I’d do anything. So I hope you’ll all enjoy.”

He turns towards the band behind him, giving them a nod to make them start playing.

And he begins to dance.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it. Quite a few of you saw the fact Sendak kidnapped Shiro coming, but I don't think any commenter at least guessed the murderer(s)? Still, I hope it makes sense to you in retrospect and you've enjoyed this ride!
> 
> This fic was indeed inspired by "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie, which is one of my favorites, but I also wanted to put my own twist to it, so the solution isn't quite the same and it's a sci-fi setting, even if the motives are similar. I also think Thace's relationship with Krolia is somewhat similar to Angela and Caroline's relationship from "Five Little Pigs" which is my absolute favorite Christie story :).
> 
> The last name Orgkana for Thace and his family comes from my friend Lunarium's fic  
> [Cabby Champion](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22233298/chapters/53088007). Feel free to check that one out if you liked this one and give them some comments and kudos!
> 
> And finally, a little extra piece inspired by Kokochan's comment and my talk with my friend Eghfeitrean:
> 
> “And after careful consideration, I have found out who did this. Who was the one who killed Sendak,” Hunk says. “And it was…Allura’s mice!”
> 
> He rolls the dice.
> 
> “You got a 19!” Coran cheers, tapping his Lore Master’s tablet. “That means you’re correct!”
> 
> “What?” Lance cries, the two mice in his lap squeaking, though it’s difficult to see if it’s in protest or amusement or what. “That’s stupid, that doesn’t make any sense!”
> 
> “Hey, he rolled a 19,” Coran says with a shrug.
> 
> “And honestly, it’s not that surprising,” Shiro quips. “I mean, the mice did eat me at least once.”
> 
> “What I’m more interested in is why I’m being put through so much shit in this game,” Keith huffs. “You’re lucky, Hunk. You get to play the detective.”
> 
> “You can play the detective next time,” Hunk promises with a smile.
> 
> “Can we move on already?” Pidge says.
> 
> “Indeed,” Allura says. “I want to know how the mice did it!”
> 
> “Very well,” Coran says. “Hunk, you have the floor.”
> 
> Hunk clears his throat and prepares himself for the monologue about the mischievous methods of the space mice. Say what you will, but he can’t be blamed for not giving his all to his performance when it comes to tabletop games.


End file.
